The Claws That Catch
by Negolith
Summary: While searching for an unknown power source the team encounters terror birds, pygmies, a really big kitty, and an Ancient experiment that has been going on for centuries. 1 in the Guardian Series.
1. I: Out Of The Fire

_Disclaimer: Don't own them, not for profit, blah blah blah fishcakes._

_A/N: A special thanks to Pink Floyd's "The Division Bell" CD - I listened to it pretty much exclusively while writing this. Also, a shout out to **Koschka**, 'cuz thanks to you the image of Zelenka and a still are indelibly etched into my brain. (Hoists glass of Smurf Piss!)_

**The Claws That Catch**

**I: Out Of The Fire**

When you see the telemetry coming in from a MALP and read ninety-seven degrees with seventy-eight percent humidity at mid morning you think, _Yeah, it's going to be a hot, miserable sonuvabitch._ Then you finally step through the Gate and the reality slaps you in the face like an innocent little freshman at her first Greek mixer.

Not that I'm speaking from experience, that is.

Yeah, it was really fucking hot. I slowly stepped forward, P90 raised and ready, and didn't even have to look to know Teyla and Ronon were fanning out behind me and to the sides, ready to catch anything trying to flank us. A moment later I heard the distinctive sound of my fourth team member exiting the Gate followed by a sharp intake of breath. _Wait for it…._

"Holy crap it's hot!" Rodney said in a slightly strangled voice.

"Thank you for the weather report, Doctor Obvious," I said through my teeth. My t-shirt was already sticking to me under the flak vest and I was seriously considering stripping down to my boxers if we had to stay here for very long. Huh, I wonder if I could order Kevlar boxers for times like these? O'Neil would probably okay it.

"Area is clear," Rodney said. "Nothing but us." There was a slap. "And bugs. Lots of bugs." There came a yelp and another slap. "Oh, man – if that's a mosquito we're screwed."

I lowered my P90 and shot a lopsided grin at Teyla. She offered one of her own amused smiles and by God if she didn't roll her eyes a bit. She's been hanging around us Earthlings too long – starting to pick up bad habits. I turned around and watched Rodney as he tried to keep bugs at bay as he frantically made adjustments to his hand held scanner. It was all rather graceful in a geek-spastic sort of way.

"I'm still getting a strong signal from the MALP," Rodney said. "It's…."

"Down there," Ronon supplied.

We were standing on what the first images from the MALP suggested was a tall hill, but from the worn flagstones under my feet it was obviously a building. A very tall, very old building. A jungle canopy stretched out beneath us and the tops of other buildings not quite covered in growth peeked up here and there. All that was missing was a Rebel look-out and the Millennium Falcon roaring overhead. I wandered over to where Ronon was standing next to some freshly exposed stone and peered down. The sight revealed we were at the top of a steep sided steppe pyramid and I could see the twisted arm of the MALP sitting on the first of five terraces below us. The rest of the thing was all the way down at the bottom and I could see the bounce marks it made on the pyramid's sides on its way there. That it was still broadcasting was a freakin' miracle. I let out a low whistle. "Man, how far down do you think that is?"

Teyla joined me a moment later and glanced down. She made an impressed sound in the back of her throat and shook her head.

"I'm not going after it," Ronon added in his normal gruff statement of the obvious.

Rodney stepped up with us and made the mistake of looking over the edge. His heat flushed face actually turned a normal shade. "Oh dear God," he said and quickly backed up a half dozen steps.

"That's gotta be four hundred feet, easily," I drawled and was rewarded by a groan from Rodney. "And I forgot to bring rope."

"Asshole," Rodney said. "A fear of heights is a very logical phobia, one that is grounded in the very realistic possibility that _falling_ from a great height can turn even a follicly challenged super pilot such as yourself into a little tiny grease smudge." He held up his scanner and waggled it back and forth a few times. "And for your edification, it's four hundred and thirty-eight feet to the bottom." Then he froze momentarily, glanced towards the edge, and backed up all the way to the Gate.

Ronon smirked at me and holstered his gun. "I could make it down."

"I am quite sure a temple such as this would have an easier way down," Teyla said as she clipped her P90 to her vest. She began walking the perimeter of the platform. Ronon shrugged and looked truly disappointed as he started walking in the opposite direction.

I clipped my own P90 to my vest and wandered over to where Rodney was standing. "So, you pick up that energy source the MALP sensed yet?"

"A third grader with a potato battery and a modified Lite Brite come EMF detector could pick it up," Rodney said. And judging by the smug jut of his jaw just then he more than likely built such a thing when he was a kid. God, his parents must have been saints, and I'm surprised Jeannie didn't smother him in his sleep. He consulted his readings and pointed off to – eh, let's call the Gate north, so it would be to the southeast. "It's about two klicks that way."

Hence the reason we were here turning into steaming puddles of goo in a tropical hell. The MALP picked up one helluva energy source before its tumble and that usually meant one thing: ZPM. At least that's what we were hoping. I tapped my earpiece. "Atlantis, this is Sheppard. Site is secure and appears to be at the top of one honkin' big pyramid. McKay has a lock on the energy signature and we should be able to proceed on foot." I glanced at Teyla and received a nod – she found the stairs. "The MALP is trashed, but I think we can retrieve the memory without any problems."

"Thank you, Colonel," Elizabeth's voice said in my ear. "Does the structure appear to be Ancient?" The capitalized name and not the age was a given with us anymore and there was a touch of excitement in her usually modulated voice.

Rodney tapped his earpiece. "Can't tell at this point. There are no discernable markings other than those on the Stargate and the DRD. The site is pretty extensive, however – we may find something, um, on the way down." He ended the sentence in a rush and looked a little green.

Elizabeth was quiet for a moment, no doubt trying to imagine what Rodney meant by that. "All right, Rodney. Standard check in, two hours."

"We'll be here," I said. "And have a couple cold ones ready for us when we get back."

There was a faint chuckle from the other end. "Will do. Good luck. Atlantis out." The Gate whooshed shut a second later.

I wiped sweat off my face and fished out my sunglasses. They started to slide down my nose the second I put them on and I actually got a little homesick for McMurdo. The thought of all that cold snow made me sigh as I wandered over to Teyla. "How they look?" I asked as Rodney fell into step next to me.

"Stable, but steep," Teyla replied with a nod toward the stairs.

Rodney made that little strangled noise again and I thought his knees were going to buckle. "Those aren't stairs – that's, that's a glorified prehistoric ladder." He started to turn away but I grabbed the back of his vest and forced him to stay put.

"Hey, piece of cake. Just back down like you're on a ladder and no problem."

Ronon snorted at me, shook his head, and started down like normal. Didn't matter that each step was a good two feet high and narrow – the big guy just plodded on down like it was nothing. Of course his legs were long enough he could do it. "Showoff," I muttered. Teyla proceeded in a more cautious sideways approach that seemed to work pretty well. I followed her lead – it allowed me to keep one hand on the steps for support and one hand from keeping my swinging P90 from smacking me in the nuts. And Rodney – well, Rodney climbed down butt out like a girl on a rickety ladder.

By the time we hit the second tier down we were all drenched, Rodney more so. The sunscreen obsessed, germ/bugophobe insisted on wearing a long sleeve shirt despite the temperature and was paying for it. Made me glad Beckett forced extra water on all of us, and I had a couple extra epi-pens stowed away in my vest, too, in case we encountered any alien bees. I glanced at Teyla and even though she was sweating just as hard as I was she had that serene but focused look on her face that made her look, well, _cool_. How the hell does she do that?

When we got to the third tier, which was roughly the halfway point, I called a rest since Rodney was turning an alarming shade of red. He immediately turned around, plopped his butt on a step, pulled out a bottle of water and downed half of it in one long breath. "The one time – _one time_ – we step through the Gate and it doesn't look like the Pacific Northwest is the one time we wind up mountain climbing in a God damn blazing jungle. I never thought I'd say this – I miss seeing my breath." He wiped a sleeved forearm across his forehead. "Canadians aren't made for this."

"I have concluded I do not like this much humidity as well," Teyla said as she wiped at her forehead, too.

I snorted. "Yeah, I prefer a dry heat myself." I looked around at the dozen or so pyramids of different heights peeking out from the trees. "Ya know, this kind of reminds me of Chich'en Itza."

Rodney sputtered as he took a drink. "And how would you know what Chich'en Itza looks like? Did the Playmate of the Year do a photo spread there?"

I glowered at Rodney but it was ignored. As usual. "Spent Spring Break '88 in Cancun. Went on a tour."

"And you voluntarily went to see the ruins?" He equally ignored my sneer. "Huh. I bet your beer addled Frat boy brain probably heard someone say, 'Hey, let's go for chicken pizza' and you tagged along in hopes of food and more tequila body shots."

Now I ignored him as I took one last drink of water and capped my bottle. He didn't need to know he actually hit fairly close to the truth. Our tour guide more than made up for the misunderstanding once I got there, however. Ah, Rosalita - damn, she had mighty fine … dimples. As I packed my water away I said, "Mayan city. Rose to power around 600 A.D., fell sometime around 1000 A.D., though some think it may have been as late at 1200. The tallest structure is the Temple of Kukulkan and there are seven ball courts in the complex." I faced Rodney and gave him a very self satisfied _hah_ and was amazed I still remembered all that.

Rodney gave his head that annoying little waggle and smirked. "Tour guide must have been cute."

I didn't think I made a face at that, but I must have because Teyla let out a short soft chuckle. I grabbed my P90 and started climbing back down. _Smart-assed Canadian can fall, for all I care_. I was half a tier lower when I noticed Ronon was already at the bottom chugging water. His leathers looked pretty damp. _Good_, I thought. _Hope they chaff_.

By the time I joined him I looked like I had just come in out of a rainstorm and my sunglasses were teetering precariously on the end of my nose. We were in the shadow of the pyramid now and I tried to pretend it was a tad cooler. I killed my first bottle of water and started on the next. When Teyla and Rodney finally made it all the way down they attacked their water as well.

Rodney sat on the last step. His hand fluttered around as he spoke between gasps. "I … never … thought I'd live … to see the day," he wheezed. I seriously need to get his butt into the gym more. He vaguely pointed in my direction. "There _is_ a force … in this universe … that can flatten your mutant Chia hair."

"Hey!" Before I could stop it my hand went to my head. I just as quickly forced it back down. "Shut up and drink your water – the heat is making you delirious," I muttered. I caught something out of the corner of my eye and turned my head. Ronon was smirking and literally _vibrating_ from the silent sniggers that racked his hyperthyrodic frame. "You don't see me making fun of your frizzed out Rasta rat's nest, now, do you?" And yeah, the humidity was doing a helluva number on it right now. And just because I had to add it, "Laugh it up, fuzz ball."

Rodney nearly choked. Teyla just cocked her head – she obviously hasn't joined the geeks for their monthly Lucas movie night to get the reference. I tried that. Once. I haven't been able to watch _Return_ since Zelenka described in great detail how _he_ would have filmed the opening sequence in Jabba's lair. That guy really needs a woman, and one that isn't endangered by sharp pointy objects.

Then suddenly, _bam_, just like that Ronon went from looking like someone suffering from a case of hyperactive hiccups to gun drawn and scowling at something behind me. I spun, P90 up and safety off in a heartbeat. Teyla reacted, too, and had her weapon ready. "What?" I whispered.

"Something moved in the brush. Over there." Ronon indicated some bushes about thirty yards from our current position that were near the base of another smaller pyramid.

"Rodney," I breathed.

Rodney fumbled his scanner out without any clarification. "There is a life sign," he confirmed in a strained whisper. "It's not moving."

_We can see that_, I thought. Ronon stalked forward, his attention riveted to the spot. "Can you tell what it is?" I whispered.

"No," Ronon replied. "But it's big."

Great.

Then it moved. I couldn't tell any detail other than it was large, dark, and seemed to be going away from us. That little fact made me happy beyond belief, but the way it just seemed to _ooze_ away raised all the soggy little hairs on the back of my neck. Ronon made as if to follow, but stopped only a few yards away from me. Then he glanced back at me and I could tell something about it bothered him as well. Not that he would ever admit it, of course, but I could tell by the look in his eyes.

"It's leaving," Rodney confirmed as he joined the rest of us. "Not very quickly, either." He squinted off into the gloom. "At the rate it's going, I get the impression it isn't too intimidated by Chewie here."

"Well, let's not stick around long enough to find out," I said as I lowered my gun. "Which way do we go?"

Rodney made a few adjustments. "Oh, that's not good." His shoulders slumped and he gave that crooked grimace he gets. "The same way it's going."

Teyla had edged up next to him and peered down at the scanner. I stepped back to see as well. It showed the layout of perhaps an acre of the temple complex. "Perhaps we can detour around that mound," she said and pointed towards a mound to our right. "That should give the creature time to travel wherever it needs to go."

Rodney nodded/shook his head like a bobble physicist and stuck his chin out. "That would work." He didn't look too thrilled at the prospect of added distance, but tough.

We headed out. Even though trees buckled the ancient flagstones here and there, the undergrowth wasn't as thick as it could be. All of the vines and bushes than covered the pyramids and the path we walked all struck me as relatively new growth. As we got around the mound, which turned out to be a partially collapsed pyramid, we came across the first of several ruined houses. The walls had been made of scavenged stone, the roofs of wood or thatch. It was hard to tell exactly – the humidity and new growth had done a number on them. And they were quite extensive.

Teyla crouched down and picked up a fragment of a brightly decorated pottery something or other. "There were people living here in the recent past," she said as she glanced around. "The colors on this haven't faded much." She set the piece back down and stood. "I wonder if they were culled, or if something else decimated their population?"

_Culled_. Now there's a word that can send a cold chill down your spine no matter what the temperature is. Disease, predators, natural disasters, nukes – now those are a much better way to be wiped out than to be culled. "Well, if it's local, let's try to keep a low profile for a change." I glanced at Rodney. "Got that?"

Rodney had his attention riveted to the scanner so it took a moment for him to realize what I had said. "What?" he said indignantly. "Why does everyone assume I'm going to bring ultimate death and destruction down upon us at every turn?"

"Because you do," Ronon said.

"With startling regularity," Teyla added.

I just grinned at him and bobbed my eyebrows once.

"Fine. Fine. Pick on the genius. Just remember all this the next time I save all of your lives from impending doom."

"Which you probably brought on in the first place," Ronon rumbled.

I caught Teyla trying really hard to hide a smile. I didn't bother hiding mine.

"No respect," Rodney muttered as he returned his attention to his scanner. "None at all. I should have been born an Asgard – now there's a race that respects genius."

He continued to grumble under his breath like that for a few minutes as we walked through the ruins of what was once a pretty extensive settlement that wove around the bases of the pyramids. We eventually came to a fairly open central plaza – open in that there were maybe a dozen huge trees shading it and clumps of brush here and there that were maybe chest high. Rodney informed us our destination was just over a klick ahead, then in the next breath he said, "Oh, crap. I just picked up three life signs, moving in fast." He pointed off to the right, across the plaza.

It took us a moment to spot them since they were the same color as the vegetation. If they had been standing still, forget about it, but since they were darting between the trees we caught the motion before we caught details. There were three big birds, their heads easily four feet above the brush, and they weren't big yellow fuzzy things that liked to sing songs to kids. Judging from their sharp raptor beaks they'd rather be eating little kids. I also got the impression they spotted us about the same time we spotted them. They had been trotting with their heads up; now they lowered them and slowed their trot to a stalking glide. They practically disappeared behind the brush they were so low to the ground now.

"Oh, shit," I said and unhooked my P90. Ronon drew his gun and thumbed the setting up a notch. Teyla took up a position in front of Rodney. I glanced around quickly and saw the closest building was about twenty yards to our left. The walls were still pretty solid and would provide cover. I signaled for everyone to head there, and not at a run. God knows how these things would react to running prey. We backed up quickly, guns raised. We were halfway there when the first bird exploded out of the brush in front of us. Ronon, Teyla, and I opened fire and the body hit the ground and slid to a halt less than three feet from me. It had tiny little wings, drumsticks that could easily feed a family of six for Thanksgiving, and feet capped with shiny black talons longer than my hand. It was still twitching and snapping its beak so I popped a few more rounds into its skull.

"No no no no no no no no no," Rodney said as he and Teyla made it to the shelter. "I'm picking up more." He didn't get a chance to elaborate when the second bird came in from their left. Teyla unceremoniously hip-checked Rodney into the gaping door just as she opened fire.

At the same time the third one came in from the right. That was not a good sign – the damn things tried to flank us. Big, fast, and smart. This really sucked.

Teyla's bird screamed and shied away from her as the bullets struck it, but that sent it charging right towards me. I could hear Ronon firing at the third as I frantically backed up and pulled the trigger. Blood and feathers exploded from its chest, and God damn if that ornery sonuvabitch didn't reach out one of those long legs and _kick_ me with its last dying gasp as it blew past me before it went down. I went flying and hit the ground, and as I laid there trying to breathe – damn thing got me right in the side – I watched Ronon get tackled by the third bird. I knew he wasn't in any danger because most of the thing's head was missing.

From my vantage point I could see another of the bastards coming in from the plaza and I could feel the ground vibrating with every one of its steps. No – wait a minute. That was coming from _behind_ me. Then I caught the unmistakable deep, throaty purr on steroids growl that can only come from a really big cat. I craned my head back and had the most wonderful view of the biggest fucking black panther I had ever seen running right at me. I didn't even get the chance to bring my P90 around when it bunched and launched. Its feet were so close to my head when it jumped I swear I felt a paw brush my cheek. It sailed over me and caught the fourth bird in midair just as it was leaping to rip me to shreds. The panther's momentum carried the bird away from me and to the ground, its jaws locked on the throat underneath that wicked beak. The bird tried to rake it with its talons but the cat did the most graceful twist before it landed and wound up straddling the bird's body. Of course it still had hold of the bird's neck as it did that, and between the motion and the vicious head shake it gave the sound of the neck snapping was very, very loud in the suddenly quiet jungle.

With a very loud and pissed off roar Ronon heaved the bird corpse off of him and rolled to one knee, his gun trained on the cat. Teyla stepped forward and had her weapon aimed as well. Rodney came out of the ruined shelter with his nine-mil drawn and that crooked, jut jawed grimace that said _don't fuck with me 'cuz I think I know how to use this and I just might._ Eh, I have full faith in his ability with the gun, especially since he's learned how to reload it properly.

And me, well, I was still sprawled on my back and was pointing my gun at the cat that was barely ten feet away from my feet. The cat dropped the bird, closed its mouth and fixed its not quite gold, not quite green eyes right on mine. It still had its ears back but it didn't do anything except stare at me. That was really starting to freak me out – this was the strangest Mexican fucking stand-off I've ever been in.

"Colonel," Ronon growled. He was more than ready to take the shot.

"Wait," I croaked out and then wondered why the hell I said that. I was staring down several hundred pounds of certain death and I said _wait_? That damn bird didn't kick me in the head, did it?

The cat relaxed its ears and made a chuffing noise that sounded an awful lot like a dismissal. It calmly stood up, grabbed the neck of the dead bird underneath it, and proceed to casually drag what had to be eight hundred pounds of dead weight away from us. I could clearly see now as it turned even blacker spots and markings in its fur, and as it passed Rodney it gave him an obvious once over but completely ignored Teyla before it disappeared into the underbrush.

"You want me to track it?" Ronon offered as he got to his feet, his gun still pointed in the direction the cat went.

"No!" I said as I let my head sink back to the ground. "S'got its lunch. Let it be."

"Colonel, are you okay?" Rodney asked as he came over. He still had his gun clenched in one hand, the scanner in the other.

"I'm fine," I said and waved a hand at him. "Just had the wind knocked out of me."

"You are bleeding," Teyla added as she knelt down next to me.

"Huh?" I partially sat up. Big mistake. I think the bastard cracked some ribs. Before Teyla pushed me back down I saw two big tears in my flak vest that exposed the ceramic guts of the thing. The pocket that held my extra ammo clips was ripped open and they were laying on the jungle floor between me and the last bird I shot. There was a gash in my pants on my left hip right below my belt. I could feel the cut – it stung like hell – but it didn't seem too bad. Jesus – if I hadn't been wearing the vest the rest of the team really would be seeing what I was made of.

I had to undo my pants in order for Teyla to slap a field dressing on the gash. Rodney didn't help matters any when he said, "I bet you've had a few fantasies that begin just like this." He had that damn little smug smirk on his face. "Injured, beautiful woman, oops, have to lose the pants in order to treat the wound."

"Shut up, Rodney," I gritted through my teeth. I could feel my face turning red, but it wasn't what he said that was embarrassing – it was the amused little smile on Teyla's face that did it as she cleaned the cut and put a bandage on it.

"You can fasten your pants now," Teyla said as she sat back on her heels. "I am quite sure you do not need my help with that."

Oh, she was really enjoying this. And she used to be so polite and diplomatic when we first met. I'm fully blaming Rodney for this. As she helped me to my feet – yup, definitely a cracked rib or two – Ronon retrieved my spare ammo. I was about to pull out some water to wash down some wimpy-ass Tylenol when I saw Rodney glance at his scanner and go pale. _Oh crap_. "How many this time?" I asked without any explanation needed.

Rodney sputtered a few times before he spat out, "Two. Three. No … six. Oh dear God – they're coming right for us."

"Fall back," I said and we took up position in the ruins. These things were smart and we sure as hell didn't need them flanking us again.

They came in at a fast trot from roughly the same direction the cat went. Yeah, there were six, but this time they had riders.


	2. II: Into The Frying Pan

**II: Into The Frying Pan**

They slowed to a walk the second they saw us. They approached even more cautiously once they saw the dead birds on the ground, and by the time they halted they formed a semicircle around our makeshift cover. The birds had blunted talons and the bridle assembly they wore not only had a piece that capped the sharp beak but had funky little blinders attached to them. The riders sat on pads instead of saddles, their legs tucked under the bird's wings in lieu of stirrups, and all of them were armed with either short wicked looking bows or blow guns. Their skin was the same shade as Teyla's and their hair was black and pulled back into tight elaborate braids that rested against the backs of their necks. They wore simple Sumo-like loin cloths and all of them sported tattoos in black and red that covered their shoulders, arms, and legs. And they all looked very, very serious.

The leader nudged his bird forward a step. At least I think he was the leader – his tattoos actually ran up his neck and onto his face and he had some fancy carved bone thingy stuck through his nose. We tensed, every one of them tensed in response, then the guy spoke and for once I didn't understand a single damn word he said. When we didn't answer he said something else, frowned, and pulled back on his bow a little more. I had to admit - with the bone and the tattoos it was pretty intimidating. Without taking my eyes off of him I said through the side of my mouth to Teyla, "You understand that?"

"I think so," she replied. "Some words are similar to a dialect I am familiar with."

"Think you can make him understand 'we come in peace'?"

"I will try."

She started talking and I watched as the leader cocked his head. He said a few words, she rattled off some more, and they went back and forth like this for a couple minutes. Suddenly I saw the light of understanding dawn in his eyes. A moment later he relaxed his draw and lowered his bow. He looked to his left and right and obviously ordered his men to do the same.

I gave the order as well. "Well?" I asked Teyla.

"I believe I will be able to converse with him. It will take some work, however."

"All right," I said. We stepped out into the open and the leader gracefully slid off his mount. He was a wiry squirt barely as tall as Teyla, and they met halfway between our two parties and started a conversation that was equal parts gesture and actual words. I took that time to sit on the crumbling wall behind me and take those much needed Tylenol. Rodney was consulting his scanner and Ronon did what he was best at – looming ominously.

"I don't get it," Rodney said and grumbled a few more things under his breath.

"Get what?" I asked as I put my water away and grimaced at the twisting motion.

"I have no idea where these pygmies came from." Yeah, they were all really short. "There are absolutely no readings for a good kilometer. Except for that energy source. And I'm not even picking up that cat anymore."

"Could they have shielding?" Ronon asked.

"Are you kidding? Look at them – they haven't even mastered pants or personal hygiene. I doubt they would have anything as sophisticated as a cloaking device."

"Do you think it could be something like that planet with all the kids with a death wish?" I added.

"Possible," Rodney replied. Then his face screwed up and he grunted. "Give me a minute," he muttered and promptly tuned us out as he started scrolling through more readouts.

While he did that I watched the other riders. Several had dismounted and were checking out the dead birds. The rest were staring at Ronon, no doubt impressed by the furry octopus-headed giant that was in their midst. Ronon noticed and crossed his arms and scowled. They backed up a step. I think the fact that he was half covered in bird blood helped with that reaction.

Teyla finished up and came back over to us. "That was easier than I expected. These people have dealt with travelers through the Stargate before and are familiar with Trader's Sign." As she said that latter bit she made a couple graceful motions with her hands. "They call themselves the Nixtahuec, Shadow People, and this was their capital city."

"Was?" I said, then grimaced. "Wraith?"

Teyla nodded. "They call them the Ixlacal – the Pale Death. But their city was decimated generations ago. The current population is apparently rather small, and when the Wraith came through two years ago they took some, but not many."

At the mention of the Wraith the leader said something to the other riders and thumped his chest. The others started laughing and some held up lean but muscular arms and pinched their biceps. Teyla smiled and said, "Kintu says the Ixlacal found his people too scrawny."

I had to smile at that. "Hello, Kintu," I said and nodded at the man. I tapped my chest and said, "Sheppard." The man smiled and nodded and managed to repeat my name without butchering it. I pointed to Rodney and Ronon and said their names as well. He picked them up without any problem either.

"Kintu is the Keeper of the Ixlatecutl," Teyla said and pointed to one of the birds. "If I understood him correctly, their name means Two Legged Death."

"That's fitting," Ronon said.

Teyla's smiled faded. "When I spoke of the panther Kintu did not seem at all concerned. In fact he was elated and said, and I quote, 'If the Guardian has protected you, then you are welcome here'. Then he invited us back to his village to rest through the worst of the day's heat."

"Guardian?" I said, but before I could ask anything else Rodney interrupted.

"We don't have time to go gallivanting through the jungle to visit some third world's nightmare equivalent of a seedy motel." He held up the scanner and waggled it. Gaah, I hate it when he does that – makes me want to grab and shove it…. He interrupted my vision. "We really – and I emphasize the 'really' part – really need to find this energy source." He was starting to get that wild look in his eyes that meant he was either on the verge of a scientific orgasm or his blood sugar was about to crash.

The corner of Teyla's mouth twitched up. "Then you will be happy to know, Dr. McKay, that Kintu's village is – how did he word that? Oh, yes - a short trot that way." She pointed in the exact direction we needed to go. "It is at the edge of this complex."

"Oh. Really?" Rodney said. He glanced at Kintu. "In that case, lead on."

"You are pathetic," I said as I straightened up. Yeah, tomorrow morning was going to suck. Kintu started talking again and gestured towards the dead Eeshlati, teh … oh, the damn dead birds.

"He wants to know what we are going to do with our kills." Teyla supplied.

I made an open handed offering motion to the little guy. "Knock yourself out." I received another big grin in return. His riders immediately began cutting lengths of the tough ground vines with obsidian bladed knives and braiding several together to form short ropes. These they tied around the birds necks and attached them to the saddle pads of their own mounts. Kintu sent the extra rider ahead while he decided to walk with us back to his village. He led his own mount like it was just a dog on a leash and not the two legged super predator it really was. I was happy to see the cap not only covered the sharp tip of that beak but also kept the mouth shut as well, and the little blinders flipped up over the bird's eyes and acted just like a falconer's hood. Sweet.

Kintu noticed I was walking a little stiffly and offered his ride. I eyed the bird and respectfully declined.

As we walked through the ancient city I finally got the chance to ask Kintu about this Guardian. Through Teyla we learned that one, the Guardian, or Tilahuaxutzli in his language, had been protecting his people since before the fall of the great city. They used to live in the shadow of the Great Pyramid before that, but since then moved the location of their village. In the last visit by the Pale Death she saved many of them from the giant screaming wasps that were their allies.

I couldn't hide a grin at that. Gotta love primitive explanations for technical stuff we take for granted. If it were only that simple.

"He says their village is built around her temple."

"Temple?" Rodney said around a mouthful of Powerbar – the light in his eyes earlier was from low blood sugar. Shoulda figured. "What does this temple look like."

Kintu talked at great length and Teyla listened intently. Occasionally she would ask a question then nod at the explanation. "He says it is small on the outside and covered with many plants, but the inside is many times larger. If I am understanding his description correctly, most of it is underground. And it has light without fire and little rooms that move up and down on their own."

"Ancient outpost," Rodney and I said at the same time. "It's a definite possibility," I said.

"And if it is …." Rodney practically skipped down the trail we were following.

"Does she live there?" Ronon asked.

Teyla interpreted. Got a reply. "Yes, she does."

"Now that's a waste of Ancient technology," Rodney said. "We'll have to evict it."

"No!" Teyla protested.

"I can do it," Ronon said. He patted his gun.

"Nobody is going to evict anybody, er, anything and there will be no shooting. Understood?"

"But …," Rodney started.

"Rodney," I said through my teeth. "We want to make friends with these people and their big kitty cat. If they can tame _these_ …," I hooked a thumb at the Jubjub bird. Yeah, that'll be a lot easier to remember than … ah, forget it. "Then they would probably have absolutely no problem wiping our asses out because we insulted their goddess. Or whatever she is."

"He does have a valid point," Teyla said. "Dr. Weir would agree as well."

"Damn it," Rodney muttered. "I hope one of you remembered to bring catnip, because I sure as hell didn't." He took an angry bite of his Powerbar. Then he noticed Kintu eyeing his snack curiously. The little guy held out a hand and raised his eyebrows in an unmistakable _share_? "Oh, no you don't. Get your own."

"Be nice, Rodney," I said and pulled one of my own bars out. Chocolate peanut butter. I opened the wrapping, started to tear off a chunk of the warm half melted thing, then decided to give the whole thing to Kintu. He took a hesitant sniff, then his eyes lit up and he devoured it. He even took the time to lick the wrapper clean. He would have tried to eat the wrapper, too, if Teyla hadn't warned him off. He patted his belly and said something behind a broad chocolate grin.

"Kintu thanks you. He promises to give us all a fine feast from the Ixlatecutl we hunted today."

"Huh, I wonder if they taste like chicken or turkey?" I said. Rodney rolled his eyes at me.

We were walking between two more huge pyramids. We didn't have much shade anymore – the sun was getting closer to its zenith and was no longer blocked by the tall stone buildings or the trees that jutted up here and there. I swear the temp had gone up ten degrees in the last few minutes and I was looking forward to the shade up ahead that was cast by the true jungle's canopy. I held my left arm tight to my side and grimaced as we plodded along. I caught Teyla out of the corner of my eye watching me with a concerned frown on her face. "I'm fine," I said. "Just looking forward to sitting down for awhile."

We cleared the complex and saw Kintu's village. We faced a wooden palisade that was easily forty feet high. The main gate was open and Kintu led us through without any challenge. I glanced up as we passed under and noticed that about a yard from the top of the wall there was a row of wicked spears pointing down at roughly a forty-five degree angle. Huh – Jubjub's must be able to climb, too. Then we were inside and I saw the place was a couple acres in size and completely surrounded by the wooden palisade. Wait, no – about three-quarters was made of logs. The rest had been replaced by stone and I could see scaffolding in place for new construction. They kept quite a few of the tall trees to provide shade for the village and most of the huts were simple wooden structures with thatch roofs and walls that could be raised to provide air flow. There were very few stone structures, and the ones I could see looked like communal kitchens. Makes sense – don't want cooking fires in straw huts, I guess.

"Crap!" Rodney suddenly said and whapped the side of his scanner a few times. He looked at me with a disgusted scowl on his face like it was all my fault. "The scanner just quit working. Well, that lends more precedence to the shield theory."

"That means our radios are dead, too," I added. I glanced at my watch – the second hand had quit moving but I could see our next check in time was in roughly forty minutes. I guess I'll just have to make sure I'm outside of the wall then.

Kintu looked concerned at our, well, mainly Rodney's distress. I had Teyla assure him everything was all right.

"Everything is not all right," Rodney said. "How am I supposed to interface with the database with nothing but some feathers and a few stone tablets?"

"We'll deal with it when we get there." And 'there' was very obvious – I pointed to the sight Rodney obviously missed in his fit.

The temple was taller than the palisade and so overgrown with vines it looked like a big green lump in the center of the village. But here and there an untarnished metal spire poked out of the foliage and the design was very familiar. For a second there I thought Rodney was going to charge forward scattering tiny villagers like so many bowling pins. But he pulled himself together, gave his head that half cock, half twitch he makes before getting down to business, and muttered. "Okay. This is looking better and better all the time." He looked at Kintu and said, "Lead on." The guy didn't understand the words, but he understood the gesture Rodney made with them.

Our merry little band caused quite a commotion as we walked through the village. People were stopping and staring at us, and I have a good feeling it was mainly because Kintu was one of the tallest people in his village. The men were dressed pretty much the same as him but the women were decked out in these short skirt-like things that were either dyed bright colors, had intricate designs woven into the cloth itself, or both. They wore lots of bracelets and anklets made of polished stones and what looked like gold. And pretty much nothing else. Most of them wore their hair out and had bright feathers braided into it while others had it pulled back in simple braids. And what children I could see were just running around naked.

All in all, I felt like we were walking through a National Geographic special, and Rodney was trying very hard not to gawp at all the exposed breasts. He finally forced himself to look straight ahead, a very fixed and studious expression on his face. Then his eyes would dart to the side, the mask would slip for a moment, and back came that look. That did it – I let out the belly laugh I was keeping inside because I knew it would hurt. Yup, it hurt like hell. "Relax, Rodney – you're starting to look constipated," I said in a slightly strained voice. "They don't have anything you haven't seen before." Then I glanced sideways and frowned concernedly. "Uh, you have seen real breasts before, haven't you?" I heard Ronon snort behind me.

"As a matter of fact, I have," he snapped back. When Teyla glanced over her shoulder at him, one eyebrow raised in a very humorless manner, he suddenly found the ground very interesting. "I'm just not used to things being this …." His head bobbled a few times. "Earthy." He was red, and I knew if I made a big deal out of it he'd just say it was the heat.

I resorted to just snickering instead. It didn't hurt nearly as much.

Kintu's riders returned with our "kills" and that distracted most of the adults. The children, however, started to come out in droves and we had quite the little crowd escorting us in a very short time. Then they started playing a game. One would run up to Ronon and touch him then sprint back to the others, giggling. Then they'd egg another one to go touch the giant. After the third time this happened Ronon glowered down at the little boy who was the current victim. The kid squealed in fear and dashed back to be laughed at by the rest of his playmates. The next one to try got a growl and several of the crowd screamed this time. Then the laughter and giggles came even harder. I had to admit, it was pretty damn cute, and I think Ronon was getting a kick out of it as well because his next growl was accompanied by a short lunge and a lot of screaming.

We came to the center of the village and the children were shushed and pulled back by the adults who were present. The area around the temple was surrounded by a clear flagstone lined perimeter about thirty feet across. There were several sections of the base of the round building completely cleared of vegetation. Ornate spigots came out of the metal wall and streams of clear water emptied into basins set beneath. Several villagers who were there filling large clay pots stopped and stared at us as we stepped onto the flagstones. A set of stairs that looked just like the ones in the Gate Room at Atlantis led up to a wide open archway.

And standing in that archway was a woman. She was tall – hell, I think she could look _me_ in the eye – and was wearing a plain dark green dress. Well, dress may have been too fancy of a word. It looked more like a long piece of cloth with a neck hole cut in it and was simply held in place by an ornate belt made of gold and jade. Her skin was a shade darker than Teyla's and her hair was jet black and pulled back. She came down the stairs and from the way her dress was cut she showed an awful lot of leg as she did. The tip of a braid that was somewhere near the back of her knees swayed into view with each step, and as she got closer it was obvious she had put the dress on while she was wet, like she had just gotten out of a shower or something.

I must have had my mouth open because Rodney nudged my arm and said, "Down, Kirk." Judging from the distracted sound of his voice, I should be telling him the same thing.

When the woman reached the last step Kintu placed his right hand over his heart, bowed briefly, and said, "Tilahuaxutzli."

She briefly placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him before she focused her attention on us. "Welcome to the Temple of Life, travelers," she said plain as day in a contralto that sent my pulse racing. Then eyes that weren't quite green, weren't quite gold locked on mine. "I am Nixta."

My introduction died on my lips as I was overwhelmed by a sense of déjà vu. _Holy Christ – no fucking way!_ I thought. Then while I was trying to convince myself I was just imagining it she stepped right up to me and did something I really, really did not expect. With her eyes half closed and her lips slightly parted, she _sniffed_ me.

Oooookay – why do I never see these things coming?

And it wasn't exactly a sniff - it was more like an deep inhale. Now I've been sweating like a pig for the last hour and a half, and I'm pretty sure my deodorant gave up its heroic battle with this heat about the time we hit the bottom of the pyramid - not to mention the roll on the jungle floor I did – so I'm certain the smell coming off of me right now was _not_ something someone would want to bottle and sell for fifty bucks an ounce. But there she was, her eyes now fully closed and a disturbingly satisfied smile on her face.

And just exactly how does one react to being sniffed by a really beautiful woman? If I didn't have witnesses right now I could think of a few things I'd try. And let's face it, saying, "Hi, I'm Lt. Colonel John Sheppard, USAF," would just seem anticlimactic at this point. Should I, like, sniff her back? Or would that make us married because of some obscure tribal tradition I didn't know about? Ah hell – why does this kind of crap happen to me? Why couldn't it happen to Ronon? Oh wait – it doesn't happen to him because the bodies would pile up really fast and we wouldn't be welcome anywhere in the Pegasus Galaxy.

While I was trying to get my mind wrapped around all this I glanced to the left at Rodney. He just stood there, staring, with his mouth hanging open and a WTF expression on his face that could beat all other previous attempts to hell. Then Nixta stepped over in front of him and sniffed him, too. At first Rodney tried leaning back away from her, then he flinched away and almost fell over as the strangeness of the whole thing really started to freak him out. He looked at me, again, like it was somehow all my fault. She didn't look nearly as ecstatic about what she got off him as she did with me because she took a step back and shook her head.

Then I caught a glimpse of Kintu. Apparently this was all pretty new to him, too, because he just stood there with the whites of his eyes showing as he looked back and forth between me and his Guardian.

Yup, that definitely falls under the heading of things you don't see every day.

Nixta fixed her eyes on mine again and I felt all the little hairs on my body try to stand up. And let's face it – there are an awful lot of them. She offered an apologetic smile but it didn't help matters any – we were all pretty much freaked. "I have upset you." _Yeah, no shit_. She lowered her eyes and gave her head a little dip. "My apologies – I had to be sure."

"Sure of what?" Rodney said, for which I was glad – I still hadn't found my voice.

"If you were truly Ancients," she replied and looked at me through her very long eyelashes.

_Oh, man_, I thought. _If she's another Chaya I'm going to ask Rodney to shoot me. My chances of surviving would be a whole helluva lot better than if I asked Ronon_. "Uh, no, we're not," I said then had to clear my throat. "We're just humans. Plain, ordinary, run of the mill humans. Yup, human." Oh, Jesus Christ – I was babbling like a damn teenager. Rodney, however, managed to bring all that to an end when he elbowed me in the ribs. The jab wasn't that hard, but it was enough to make me clamp my teeth down to keep from cussing out loud. I glared at Rodney, my right fist clenching and unclenching as I fought the urge to deck him.

"Oh shit," Rodney said as he realized what he had done. "Sorry. Sorry sorry." He actually started to look very concerned. "I forgot about … um, you can breathe any time now."

Huh, so I _was_ holding my breath. Teyla put a hand on my arm as I blew that out and drew in another shaky one. "Rodney," I said through my teeth, "you are a walking WMD. Has anyone ever told you that?"

"I may have heard that a time or two," he said with a crooked grimace.

"You should come with your own warning label." I took in a few more shaky breaths and gave Teyla a strained smile. "I'm okay," I said. Her expression clearly replied, _no you aren't_.

Nixta grew very concerned as well. "My apologies again – you have wounded in your party." She glanced at Ronon for the first time.

Ronon shrugged. "I'm fine – not my blood."

One eyebrow rose faintly at that and she gave him a ghost of an approving smile. That made him stand up straighter and puff his chest out a bit. Figures – compliment him on using a fork, he grumbles. Compliment him on killing something and he glows. "Please, come inside the temple. You will find it much more comfortable there – it is obvious you are not accustomed to this climate." Nixta turned to Kintu and said something. He nodded and trotted off into the village. "I've asked Kintu to bring us some food. Come," she said and started up the steps.

Teyla still had her hand on my arm and I didn't mind. The second I came within a few feet of the steps my ATA gene triggered the lighted designs in their edges. Oops, forgot about that. Nixta whirled around to look at me, then at Rodney. "Who are you?" she said, her attention settling on me again.

Rodney jumped in right away. "Well, um, I'm Dr. Rodney McKay, astrophysicist and genius," he said as he put one hand to his chest and stuck his jaw out. "The stoic one who actually looks like he's about to puke is Lt. Colonel John Sheppard. That is Teyla Emmagen, our diplomat, interpreter, and voice of reason, and the big guy covered in something else's, uh, blood is Ronon Dex."

"Pleased to meetcha," I gritted out as I slowly plodded up the stairs. It wasn't a sniff, but it would have to do.


	3. III: Fast Times At G8R040

_A/N: I got so excited to be posting the second chapter I forgot something. The names are loosely based on Nahuatl (gotta put that archaeology degree to work somehow), so a quick pronunciation guide: Emphasis is on first and fourth syllables, x sch, hue weh, hua wah._

**III: Fast Times At G8R-040**

We got to the top of the stairs and through the archway I could see a fountain inside the temple splashing away. I wasn't sure, but I think I heard Rodney whimper faintly. Yeah, he was probably thinking the exact same thing I was – how insulting would it be if we just ran forward and flopped down in the thing? We crossed the threshold and I was aware of a faint tingling. Huh, must have passed through a field of some kind because we all stopped, closed our eyes, and sighed. It was easily twenty degrees cooler in the temple. I opened my eyes and saw Nixta watching us with a bemused smile.

"This way," she said and led us around the fountain. We were in an atrium that was easily as tall as the Gate Room back on Atlantis. The fountain took up a good chunk of the floor space and the room was full of plants. These weren't overgrown wild things like outside. No, this was a carefully tended garden if I ever saw one. The lighting seemed natural until you looked up and saw the prisms in the ceiling and what looked like another tier of plants. _I wonder if it was channeling real light from outside?_ I thought as I glanced over at Rodney. His head was swiveling around like it was earlier, only this time there weren't any boobs present.

"Oh, man," he whispered. "Dr. Brown would be lying on the floor, twitching, if she saw this." Personally I pictured the little redheaded botanist skipping through the place in glee, but then that could have been the pain and heat doing strange things to my mind.

"It is a beautiful garden," Teyla added as she ran a hand along a vine that held delicate red-gold blossoms. The smell that rose from them made me think of birthday cake for some reason.

"Garden? This is a, an Ancient botany lab." Rodney said. "I'd bet a month's wages on it."

We passed through another archway into an area that was about the size of our conference room. Two curved stairways led up to the next level. We passed between those and into a short corridor that ended at a very familiar door. Nixta had to palm the panel to open a lift that was quite a bit bigger than the ones back home. We all fit with room to spare and she took us up at least two levels. The doors opened into what must be her private quarters. Another smaller fountain – smaller in that its base was probably ten feet across and the water cascaded down from a central post about twelve feet high – sat in the center of the room. The place was completely unrecognizable as Ancient – the floors were covered with layers of reed matting and the walls were completely hidden by woven tapestries. Some were obviously very old, their colors faded into varying shades of gray. Others were newer, their colors bright and gaudy next to the others. And every one had a theme in common – the figures were stylized but you could still tell the central figure was always a big black cat. With very big teeth and claws.

"Please, sit. Be comfortable," Nixta said and gestured to the floor around the fountain. "You may use the water to clean yourselves." Then she met my eyes. "I will bring you something for your pain." I wish she would quit doing that – it was starting to really freak me out.

"Thank you," I said. She nodded once and disappeared through a smaller open archway that was hidden by a tapestry. I gratefully sank down on the cool lip of the fountain. Teyla stayed right by my side. I waved her away as I unhooked my P90 and unzipped my flak vest. Oh yeah, that felt much better.

Ronon didn't waste any time – he simply stepped up on the fountain's edge and stuck his head under the running water. He leaned forward, braced his hands on the central post, and just stood there. He was splashing all of us and Rodney danced away. "Hey, watch it. You don't know what's in that water." Ronon pushed himself upright and ran his hands down his face. Then he gave his head a shake. I leaned away – more out of fear of the motion dislodging some of his hidden knives than from the water flying everywhere. Rodney sputtered and pointed across the room. "Go over there if you're going to do that."

Ronon glowered at him and plopped down on one of the mats.

I think if I had the energy I would have done the same thing Ronon did. I pulled my radio earpiece from my ear then carefully took off my vest and turned it around to examine the damage closer. One of the ceramic plates fell out and bounced off my foot. We all just stared at it like it was some giant hairy spider or something. "Oh man," I said and felt a little ill. I glanced at Rodney and he looked like he was about to do the puking for me. I looked closer at the vest and poked my finger through a small hole between the plates that did manage to go all the way through. A glance down showed a matching nick in my t-shirt. "Now that was too fucking close," I muttered as I pulled up my shirt and saw a tiny nick on my side as well.

Rodney sat down heavily on the edge of the fountain. He was showing way too much white in his eyes to make me comfortable. He picked up the plate and flipped it over to reveal a scratch across it. "Can you imagine how strong those claws were to be able to do this? And this was just from a glancing blow! My God – if it had scored a direct hit you would be, have been, er, ah, yeah - shutting up now," he finished as he finally noticed the glower coming from me.

The thought of pushing him into the fountain was interrupted by Nixta returning. There were four women from the village with her and three carried baskets bearing fruit and a flat bread of some kind. The fourth carried a large clay pitcher and they didn't waste any time laying out the quick meal on a low table that sat on the other side of the fountain. They kept stealing glances at Ronon and they left to a wave of giggles a moment later. Nixta carried a wooden tray with four simple clay cups on them. She handed me one before carrying the rest to the table to fill with water from the pitcher.

The cup was only half full and I took a hesitant sniff. It smelled a lot like the flowers Teyla touched spiked with a good amount of home brewed hootch. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Rodney asked. "What if it's poisonous, or you're allergic? Huh, have you considered that little consequence? Because I know damn well there is no way in hell I'm going to be able to drag your ass back up that pyramid to get you to the Stargate in time, or even just to dial it up and get Beckett's ass back here."

"Ah, gee, you do care," I drawled. I sat the cup down so I could fish an epi-pen out of my vest and handed it to him just in case.

Before I could pick the cup back up Teyla grabbed it and gave it a sniff as well. Then she dipped a finger in and lightly touched it to the tip of her tongue. She made a brief face then handed it to me. "It is strong," she said as she trailed her hand through the water to rinse the rest off. "But not unpleasant."

I took the cup and raised it in a salute. "Well, here goes." I slammed it in one big gulp. At first I regretted it as my eyes watered and my sinuses instantly cleared. I didn't go into a coughing fit, thank God, because I probably would have passed out. By the time the stuff hit my stomach like one of Zelenka's homemade brews my gums were numb. "Wow," I said eyeing the cup through tears. "What is in this stuff?" I was really surprised I didn't lisp as I said that.

"It is made from a local flower and has been used by my people for generations," Nixta said as she joined us. She held two cups in one hand like a waitress and the pitcher in the other. The cups she handed to Rodney and Teyla, then she took mine and refilled it with water. At Rodney's dubious look she smiled. "It is just water. Nothing more."

I took a drink and I think it was cold – I couldn't tell for sure through the spreading numbness. Nixta was still standing there and as I lowered my cup I had a unimpeded view of an awful lot of lean thigh and hip. At this distance I noticed for the first time that her skin was covered with dozens of very fine, very old scars, and as she turned to walk away I could see more along her arm. I heard Rodney let out a disgusted sigh because, yeah, I was staring. At least I wasn't drooling yet from the home brew. I turned my head in time to catch him mouth _Kirk_. "Oh, go eat something." _Maybe there's citrus…_. I swiveled sideways and leaned over to splash some water on my face. It was cool and felt absolutely wonderful.

Rodney decided to follow my suggestion and go check out the buffet with Nixta. Teyla stayed a moment to splash water on her face an arms – I swear she still looked cool and didn't need it. When I tried to stand a moment later I was glad she was still there. I wove a little and when she put a hand out to steady me I gave her a really lopsided grin. "Beckett should stock up on this stuff – it rocks," I said. My side was still hurting, but I sure as hell didn't give a crap. I saw my vest on the floor and tried to bend over to get it. I probably would have gone ass over teakettle into the fountain if Teyla hadn't grabbed my arm.

"I will get that," she said and couldn't hide an amused smile.

"Yeah, that would probably be best." We wandered around the fountain and I saw Ronon had already attacked the food. He was sitting on the floor in front of the low table and currently had a piece of flat bread in one hand and something that looked like a purple kiwi the size of a grapefruit in the other. Rodney was eyeing everything dubiously, no doubt trying to decide if anything fell under the citrus category. He settled on a piece of the bread and took a tentative nibble. Then he went _huh,_ took a bigger bite, then took a blue thing Nixta offered that resembled a short, fat banana and sniffed it.

I wasn't really hungry so I just sat my butt down on the edge of the fountain again. Teyla sat my vest down next to me and asked me if she could get me anything. I waved. "I'm okay." She gave me a sideways look that conveyed she wasn't so sure about that statement as she walked over to check things out.

Rodney suddenly started like somebody goosed him and tapped his earpiece. "McKay here," he said and looked genuinely surprised. "It's Elizabeth. We're picking up broadcasts in here. Um, no no no no – everything's fine. It's just unexpected." He saw Nixta watching him. "Um, excuse me. No, not you Elizabeth. I, ah, excuse me." He gave Nixta an apologetic twitch and hustled away from her.

Huh. I glanced down at my watch and saw the second hand moving again. Cool – the tower was shielded from the shielding that was shielding our … ah, fuck it. I snickered as I reached down for my vest and my own earpiece while Rodney kept talking.

"We met up with the locals," Rodney said in a whisper that wasn't all that quiet. "They have their village built around what I'm pretty sure in an Ancient field lab. We haven't…."

"Hey, Lizabeth," I drawled as I tapped my earpiece and put it in place. "How's it goin?"

There was a long pause on the other end. "John? Are … are you all right?" Elizabeth asked cautiously.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Had a little run in with Big Bird's evil cousins, but I'll explain all that later after we eat 'em." Rodney started sputtering but I ignored him. "The locals are friendly, but I think Rodney is nervous from all the exposed…." Rodney tapped my earpiece. "Hey!"

"Pay no attention to the colonel, Elizabeth. He's been sampling some of the local, ah, medicine."

"Do I need to send Carson with a medical team?" Elizabeth asked. She sounded worried.

"No!" I said loud enough to be heard on Rodney's headset.

"No," Rodney repeated and pointed a finger at me like I was a bad dog. "He's fine – just, um, very _happy_ at the moment. Ah, can we check back in a few hours? I will have some more information for you then and hopefully without interruption." Rodney glowered at me. It just made me giggle. Yup, giggle. Oh this is really good shit. Better than Carson's really good shit.

"All right, Rodney. Four hours." I could hear Elizabeth draw in a breath over the line. "Are you sure everything is fine?"

"Yes, yes, it's all copacetic. Four hours. McKay out." Rodney promptly pulled my earpiece out and held it in front of my nose. "You are not allowed near this until you quit drooling."

"I'm not drooling," I said, then checked my chin just to be sure because I couldn't feel my face.

Teyla and Ronon were watching now. Ronon was grinning but Teyla looked concerned. "John, are you feeling well? You look…."

"Stoned," Rodney finished.

"He wasn't hit with rocks," Teyla said.

That made me grin.

Rodney sighed. "It's an expression. It's similar to being inebriated, but from different substances." He glowered at Nixta. "How much of that stuff did you give him."

She was looking genuinely concerned. "I may have overestimated the dose," she said.

"May have?" Rodney said. "May have?"

Ronon hadn't quit eating during all this and he continued to chew around a definite shit eating grin. Ya know, I kind of envied the big guy. Life seemed pretty simple for him - eat, sleep, shoot things. I wish my life could be that uncomplicated. Except I'd have to work in the time to annoy Rodney. Eat, annoy Rodney, shoot things, sleep. Wait, forgot flying. Definitely can't forget that – eat, annoy Rodney, fly around, shoot things, annoy Rodney some more, sleep. Oh crap, gotta work in time for the ladies. Eat, annoy Rodney…. Next thing I know Rodney is annoying _me_ by snapping his fingers in front of my nose.

"Focus, here, Sheppard. Focus." I pushed his hand away and damn near fell over. "Oh, man, are you wasted." I just grinned at him. "Um, do you have someplace we can put him until he sleeps this off?"

Nixta nodded.

"Good." Rodney got my right arm over his shoulder and hoisted me to my feet. At least I think I was on my feet – I really couldn't feel much from the lips down. "Come on, Spicolli, time to go beddy-by." He followed Nixta through a door somewhere – wasn't exactly sure where it was – into a dark room. I thought the lights on automatically and heard Nixta gasp.

"You think that's cool, you should see what I can do with a Jumper." I was lowered down on something soft and looked up at everyone. "Jeez, you all look so … serious. Lighten up, already."

"And you look one step away from a drool cup, Depends, and a major intervention," Rodney said. He grabbed my feet, swiveled them around, and sat them on what I think was a bed. "Now be a good little colonel and lay down."

"Okay, okay." I laid down. Man, whatever I was lying on was really, really soft and seemed to suck me in. "I think I will close my eyes for a little bit." I did and everything just floated away.

I could have sworn I only had my eyes shut for a few minutes, but when I could finally think straight I had the worst case of cotton mouth I'd ever had in my life and my scalp felt about two sizes too small for my head. Plus it felt like I was lying on a board and my knife was digging into my ass and the small of my back. I cracked my eyes open and light that was way too bright and way too familiar made my hair shrink another size. I instantly thought _lights, fifty-per cent_ and that helped some. As I ran a hand down my face – which I was happy to note I could actually _feel _again– I thought, _Oh, great. They had to drag me back to Atlantis._ And no doubt Carson had a fit of such epic proportions he shit himself inside out and now our CMO was a giant haggis in a lab coat. The image made me snort. Guess I'm still under the influence after all. I dropped my hand down to my chest and was about to attempt to sit up when it dawned on me it was way too quiet. I rolled my head to the side and glanced around the small room. Nope, wasn't Atlantis after all.

Teyla suddenly popped through the open door and smiled. "Ah, you are awake," she said. "I saw the lights dim and hoped that was the case."

"Yeah," I croaked out. I tried to sit up but it wasn't quite working the way I wanted. Teyla came over to help, and once I got my feet swung over the edge of the examination table it was a little easier. "We still in the temple?" I asked once I was upright. My ribs still ached but it was bearable.

"Yes. It appears Dr. McKay's earlier guess was correct – this is an Ancient biological research facility. You are in one of its med bays – he had Ronon bring you down when he found it." She bent down and picked up a large gourd with a stopper. "Drink this – Nixta said it would help with any side effects of her draught."

I eyed the gourd suspiciously. "It's not more of that stuff, is it?"

Teyla smiled and shook her head. "It is just water. She sent some food down as well."

I popped the stopper and guzzled. I never thought water could taste so damn good. "How long was I out?" I asked once I came back up for air.

"Almost six hours." She bent down and retrieved a basket. It held several pieces of the flat bread and some of the mutant bananas. "When Dr. Weir checked in Rodney assured her you were perfectly all right and just 'sleeping it off'."

I coughed. "And Beckett?" I could just see him hovering behind Elizabeth in the control room the whole time, chomping at the bit and ready to roll with a full med team.

"Rodney was able to send him a full med scan from this facility – you have one cracked and four bruised ribs – and since there were no internal injuries he was willing to let this one slide." As she said that she managed to catch Beckett's cadence. It was eerie. "We are to make sure you drink plenty of fluids to counteract the 'medication' and keep you from doing anything strenuous."

_And when you get back to Atlantis your ass is mine_, my mind finished. I picked up a piece of the bread and tore off a chunk. I was really wanting some Doritos right now but it was gonna have to do. All it took was one bite and I was wolfing it down, and by the time I quit eating most of what was in the basket was gone. I looked sheepishly at Teyla – she just stood there with that inscrutable half smile on her face. "Sorry," I said around a mouthful.

"It is perfectly understandable. Rodney said you might have the 'munchies'."

Jeez, the way she said that made me feel like a damn teenager again. I swallowed and drank the rest of the water. My hair wasn't trying to squeeze my brain out my ears anymore and other than the aches and pains I was starting to feel human again. "Ronon with Rodney?"

Teyla nodded. "Dr. Weir asked him to make sure Rodney didn't get too … exuberant while you were indisposed. Of course she did not phrase it quite that bluntly."

_Heh_. "I can just imagine." I slid off the table and tested my balance. Not too bad – no visible weaving. The first few steps were stiff but I've been worse. "We better go relieve him before he starts using Rodney for target practice."

The hallways were a lot like the ones in Atlantis – the only difference was the color scheme. This place was done in muted earth tones as opposed to the blues and greens of home and some of the decorations were slightly different. There were still those funny water filled columns here and there, and if it was like back home they were all part of an extensive water purification system. We came to the lift and we actually rode down a few floors. "How far down does this go?"

"Six levels below ground, mostly labs. There are three extensive hydroponic units, all empty. One level and the tower contain living quarters and share the same amenities as Atlantis."

I looked down at her as the door opened. "Hey, you got to shower, didn't you?" She just gave me that little half smile. "No fair."

"I am sure you will have time before the feast."

Oh, yeah – that's right. Roasted Jubjub. I was about to ask her when dinner was when we both heard voices raised in quite a bit of anger coming from down the hall. We glanced at each other. "Rodney," I muttered and we double timed it to an open door at the end of the hall. The first thing I saw when I stepped in was Ronon leaning against the wall, his arms crossed and a smirk hiding behind his beard. He saw me and nodded.

"I thought you were supposed to keep him under control," I said.

"Nobody can do that," Ronon rumbled. "Besides, I want to see how far she can throw him across the room. I'm thinking he'll bounce once before he hits the wall."

I glanced around the room in question – it was pretty big and looked an awful lot like a control room. Rodney and Nixta were facing off over a large console and I was pretty sure she'd have no problem reaching across and yanking him right over the top of it. They both had their hands braced and were leaning forward toward each other.

"Absolutely not!" Nixta said, her voice not quite at yelling volume but damn near. "This temple produces the only fresh water available for my people. I will _not_ have you compromise that."

"But the one ZedPM has more than enough power to keep those systems operational for years – I can arrange that," Rodney snapped back. "The other is the main power source to a system that as far as I can tell hasn't been used in centuries."

Whoa –two ZPM's? No wonder why Rodney is foaming at the mouth.

"And it will remain in place for centuries to come," Nixta replied. Her voice dropped dangerously. "This is not negotiable, and I will hear nothing more of this madness."

"But …." That was all Rodney got out before her hand darted across the console and grabbed the front of his flak vest. She one-armed him up onto the thing like he didn't weigh more than a child and drew him up until they were nearly nose to nose. I shot forward to intervene, and that's when I saw what looked like a shadow ripple down her arm. I grabbed her wrist and I swear to God I felt fur rise up briefly under my hand.

"You are a guest here, Dr. Rodney McKay," she said through her teeth. At this close range Rodney and I could both see her canines were a little bit longer than normal. "And _I_ invited _you_ to share in the knowledge of this temple. Do not make me renege or regret that offer."

"Hey, whoa - let's just all calm down here, now." I squeezed the tendons in Nixta's wrist to get her to loosen her grip. Now I have a pretty damn good grip – you need to in order to pull an F16 out of a three-g turn on afterburners – but even giving it everything I had was not making her release her hold on Rodney. "And discuss this like civilized human beings," I said pointedly at Rodney. He started to open his mouth and I could tell by the set of his jaw he wasn't going to be civil. "Rodney," I said through my teeth. The tone made him snap his mouth shut and he started to nod spastically. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and saw Ronon stepping up behind Rodney, his hand resting lightly on his gun. Teyla was still somewhere behind me.

A few tense seconds passed by before Nixta finally let go. She just opened her hand and Rodney hit the console and slid down it until his feet hit the floor again. I let go a moment later and could clearly see the outline of my grip on her smooth skin. She closed her eyes and took in a very deep breath. Then she released it and pointed at Rodney. "He is a mad man," she said to me.

_Yeah, but he's our mad man_, I thought after a mental snort.

Rodney indignantly pulled down his shirt and straightened his vest. Then he pointed a finger at Nixta. "And she is completely unreasonable."

I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. "My apologies about that – his enthusiasm tends to over-ride his manners," I said to Nixta. Then I faced Rodney. "In the hall, now." He started to protest so I grabbed him by the back of the vest and marched him out the door. That little maneuver woke my side up and when I released him he mistook the tight-lipped grimace on my face for anger.

"Oh, sure, take her side," he snitted at me.

I held a finger up on my left hand while I held my right to my ribs. When I could speak without sounding like I was being throttled I said, quietly, "What has Elizabeth told you about trying to commandeer every piece of Ancient technology that you come across?" Rodney looked at the floor, crossed his arms, and mumbled something. "What was that?" I prodded.

"That I shouldn't automatically assume that they are all idiots and have absolutely no understanding of the importance of what they have."

Well, that wasn't exactly how she phrased it, but it would do. "And what else?"

He briefly chewed on a fingernail. "And that I must fully weigh the needs of those using the technology and the consequences of what its removal will have on them in the long run," he said rather petulantly.

Wow, he was listening.

But then his eyes lit up, his hands shot up, and he started in at a mile a minute. "But Colonel – there are two ZedPM's here. Two of them! One may only be at seven per cent, but the other still has a sixty-two percent charge. Sixty-two! Do you realize how long we could keep the shield or the cloak raised with that much power? We could even dial Earth again."

Well, he was listening but he wasn't _hearing_. I had to admit, though – his enthusiasm was catching and I found myself smiling faintly. "Two, huh?"

"Yes. I haven't pin-pointed their location yet, but once everyone is asleep …."

"Wait. No! You know damn well what Elizabeth would say to that."

"She would see that …." His words trailed off and he looked behind me. I turned and saw Nixta coming through the doorway, and judging by the frown on her face she had more than likely heard most of our conversation. She was holding Rodney's computer, its interface leads trailing along the floor as she glided towards us. She shoved the thing into Rodney's hands.

"You are finished here," she said, her anger dropping her voice into cool purr that made my pulse skitter again. "It is time to return to the tower." She stepped aside and gracefully pointed down the hall to the lift. Rodney and I started down the hall and when Teyla and Ronon left the control room to join us Nixta took up the rear.

"Way to go, Rodney," I said under my breath. "You pissed her off." For some reason that had me more than just a little worried for his continuing existence.

"Hey, she's the one being unreasonable," he whispered back.

I sighed and just shook my head. We rode the lift up in silence, and when the doors opened we were back at the place we started. The fountain was still splashing away but the food was cleared off the table. Once we were all in the room Nixta pulled the access panel from the lift's controls and removed one of the crystals. Huh, guess she didn't trust Rodney to stay put and not go wandering on his own. Wonder why?

"The sun will be setting soon," she said as she tucked the crystal behind her belt. "We will be eating then. I will send someone for you when it is time. Please wait here – there are quarters through there you may rest in until then." She turned stiffly and ducked through a curtain. Out of curiosity I went over and peered through and saw a set of stairs curving down out of sight. I went about halfway down and saw a balcony overlooking the fountain in the main entrance.

When I came back through the curtain I caught Rodney staring down the hall at the lift. Then he saw me and suddenly went back to the display on his computer. Yeah, nonchalant my ass. There was no sign of Ronon and Teyla. I didn't say a word as I hooked both hands in the back of his vest and turned him to face the direction Nixta said there were quarters.

Rodney started protesting immediately. "I wasn't going to do anything."

"Sure you weren't," I drawled. I saw a curtain move and Teyla poked her head out. She frowned.

"I thought you were right behind us," she said accusingly at Rodney.

"I was!" He shook himself free of my grip. "I just got distracted by this," he said and gestured toward his computer.

"Uh huh," I said as I herded him through the curtain that Teyla held open. "So, what exactly is this place?" I asked in an attempt to get him distracted from jury rigging the lift so he could go ZPM hunting.

"Our first guess was partly correct," Rodney said as he called up some data. "The Ancients were doing botanical and genetic research at this facility. I've downloaded a ton of data just about the plants that grow in the region that have some pharmacological uses. That flower that your cocktail was made from has a chemical signature very similar to morphine, and the stuff grows everywhere like a weed. It's, it's kudzu with a kick." He started to scroll through even more information. "And that's just the tip of the iceberg. There are plants here that contain super anti-oxidants, natural anti-viral compounds, and there are even some that may slow or even cure cancer."

Cool. Even more reasons to be on these people's good side – the scientists back on Atlantis would be foaming at the mouth once they got their hands on this data. I leaned back against a wall and only casually listened while Rodney spewed out more information. I glanced around and took in some details – we were in a long curving hallway that as far as I could determine followed the outer edge of the tower. The green wall to my left was simply overgrown windows. Doors marched on around the curved wall I was leaning against. I was just about to ask Teyla where Ronon was when the big guy popped in through the curtain.

"Goes all the way around," he said quietly to my raised eyebrow.

Rodney didn't notice Ronon's return. He didn't quit talking either. You know, years ago I saw a t-shirt that said, "Help, I'm talking and I can't shut up." I wonder if Jeannie would be able to find me one somewhere for his next birthday?

"Oh, hey – now that's interesting," Rodney said and my attention came back to his rambling.

When he just kept reading and didn't say anything else I sighed. "What?" I prompted.

"Oh. Um, it appears most of the research ended about the time the war with the Wraith started. Makes sense. There's mention of a security system being put in place to protect the facility until they could resume their studies, but no further details."

"The shield?" I asked.

"Could be," Rodney said.

"You said there was genetic research going on here as well?" Teyla asked.

Rodney called up some new information. "Yes. Looks like the Ancients were experimenting with crossing different strains of plants to enhance potency and whatnot. Wait a minute. Oh, wow – they were also in the middle of a long term study of the locals." He read for a minute. "I'll be damned – I just found a current and fairly complete genealogical listing for the local tribe. And it looks like Nixta entered most of it." He grimaced and tapped at the screen. "Huh, that can't be right." He obviously did some calculations in his head then frowned. "No way," he mumbled.

I looked at Teyla and sighed. Sometimes you can't get him to shut up; other times it's like trying to get something less than ninety proof from Zelenka and his 'secret' project over in lab twelve. "What?" Teyla and I both said.

"How old would you say Kintu is?" Rodney said in lieu of an explanation.

I frowned and thought about the wiry little guy and all his tattoos. "Oh, I don't know – a hard thirty?"

Rodney got that damn smug little smirk on his face and rocked back and forth, heel to toe, a few times. "Nope. Not even close." He glanced down at his computer again. "He's seventy-two."

"No way," I said.

"You must be mistaken," Teyla said.

Ronon just made an impressed grunt.

"No, no – I factored in the Ancient time frame and the differential with ours and came up to just over seventy-two point four-nine-seven." He nodded to himself. "So I'm pretty sure. And barring any accidents, run-ins with Wraith or the Two Legged Death, it looks like he could live to be well over two hundred." He started looking over some more data. "If what I'm reading is correct, then the main reason the Ancients established this place _was_ to study the locals. The pharmacological discoveries are just secondary - they were trying to establish the relationship between their genetic make-up, diet, and geographical location. It's like we're standing in a, a veritable Fountain of Youth."

"Why haven't the Wraith taken advantage of these people?" Teyla wondered out loud.

"I was just thinking the same thing," I added.

"That's a good question," Rodney said. As he quickly scanned over more data he said, "I might have to get back to you on that one."

The image of Rodney and lemons suddenly came to mind. "Maybe the Wraith are allergic to them," I said jokingly.

Rodney raised his head and got that glazed look in his eyes again. Then he grunted. "You know …." Then he went back to the data on his computer, started mumbling to himself, and began pacing back and forth as his brain went into high gear.

Good – that should keep him distracted from trying to steal a ZPM. I glanced over at Teyla and saw her giving me an approving smile. "You are good," she said quietly. Heh – she figured out what I was doing.

"Yeah, I know," I said just as quietly. "His buttons are easy to figure out."

She nodded and pointed to a door that was a few feet from where I was leaning. "That is the room they put you in earlier when you were 'under the influence'. You will find your vest and P90 in there. I think Ronon and I can keep an eye on Dr. McKay if you wish to clean up."

I had thought the door open even before I pushed away from the wall. The room was smaller than mine back home but everything was familiar. I saw my flak vest laying on a small table - someone had patched it with black duct tape. "Rodney," I muttered. Had to be. The bed was actually an oval section of the wall that folded out and draped across it was a very large gold pelt with russet brown spots. I ran my hand along it and couldn't help curling my fingers into the velvety fur. Oh man, that was nice. The thing was huge – it hung over both ends and the side of the bed by a good foot. "I don't think I'd want to meet you in the jungle," I said.

I found a stack of neatly folded pieces of local cloth all about the size of a sheet. I took one into the bathroom to use as a towel and was very happy to see the layout was exactly the same as what I was used to. After a nice long shower I rinsed my clothes out as best as I could. The Atlantean showers had this funky little air dry feature –the first time I ever tried it Rodney asked me if I had slept with my foot in a light socket and I never used it again. These had the same thing and while my clothes were in there drying out I was sitting on the bed with the sheet wrapped around me so I could re-bandage the gash on my hip. The thing was about five inches long and the edges were red and puffy from sweat irritating it. I cleaned it with one of the alcohol swabs from my puny first aid kit – holy crap that burned like a mother – and was in the process of putting a new dressing on it when Rodney just barged on in.

"Hey, knock first," I said.

"Well, you didn't lock it," Rodney said. "Oh, man, that's ugly."

'That' was my side which was turning into a mass of egg plant purple and red, and if you squinted your eyes just right you could see the outline of one of the plates from my vest. "No shit," I said as I gathered up my sheet and stood slowly. "What is it?"

Rodney just casually plopped his ass down on the bed. He had that irritating little smirk on his face that means he's either found something really good, or the snark is building to a breaking point. "So, who are you trying to impress?"

Snark. Great. I made an over exaggerated sniff. "You know, I've often wondered what a wet wolverine would smell like," I said as I wandered into the bathroom to see if my stuff was wearable yet.

"Oh, har har," Rodney said. "The natives don't seem to mind. And besides, Ronon is still running around covered in blood."

"Yeah, but that's Ronon. You're supposed to be a scientist, not a mountain man." I started pulling on my stiff but dry clothes. I stuck my head around the edge of the door jamb. "Do you actually have something to share, or are you just here to make my life hell. Like normal?"

"Oh, this isn't hell. This isn't even purgatory. Trust me – if I wanted to make your life hell you'd know it."

My sigh was loud enough I'm pretty sure Elizabeth heard it. "McKay."

"All right, all right," he said. "When I started going over the records looking for visits from the Wraith – of which I only found six recorded cullings, by the way – I noticed something, well, odd. There's been someone making entries on the family charts since the Ancients left, and all have been referred to as Nixta. Which, if I'm translating correctly, means shadow. The current Nixta has been making entries in the system for nearly fifteen-hundred years."

I came out the of bathroom, my t-shirt in my hands. "Do you think she's a clone?"

"I don't know – that isn't in the information I downloaded so far. She could be. She could be a freakishly tall local for all I can tell." He tapped his computer. "And I know she isn't an Ancient and doesn't have the ATA gene – she had to manually operate the systems down in the control room. And she was genuinely surprised when you thought the lights on earlier. I need to get back into that database."

Huh. The image of green-gold eyes staring at me over the bloody neck of a bird flashed through my mind. "Think she's some Ancient genetic experiment?" I pulled my shirt on. You know, it's amazing how hard it is to raise a hand over your head when your side hurts. Socks and boots were going to be even more fun. "And what about that Guardian thing?"

"Could be," Rodney said. Then he waved a hand. "And if you're thinking what I think you're thinking, then you've been watching way too many bad horror films."

"They called the cat the Guardian, they called her the same. I dunno, sounds logical to me." I sat down on the bed and picked up my socks. I really dreaded bending over so I just hauled my foot up and sat my ankle on my knee. That worked.

Rodney started to shake his head so spastically I thought he was starting to go into a seizure. He stood up. "No way. Huh uh. Not possible. They're just using the same name for things with the same purpose."

I was about to ask Rodney how the pyramids looked from his vantage point when Teyla stuck her head in the door. "Kintu is here to take us to the feast."

"Thanks. I'll be ready in a sec." I grabbed my boots. "Think about it, Rodney," I said in a rather strained voice as I got my first boot on. I had to rest a minute before attempting the next.

"No. It's, it's, it's ridiculous." Then he looked at me. "You don't look so good."

"Bending over sucks right now," I said and shakily got to my feet. I think my little drink from earlier just gave up the ghost. As I strapped on my web belt and hand gun I said, "Let's go eat. I'm hungry." We stepped into the hallway I asked, "So, when's next check in?"

"In the morning," Rodney replied. He checked his watch. "About ten hours from now."

Against my better judgment I said, "Tell you what – I will talk to Nixta and see if she's willing to let you have another stab at the database. But …." I raised a finger. "You have to promise to behave. Don't make me have to set a babysitter on your ass, because if it's me I will shoot you. And if I have Ronon do it, I will order him to shoot you if you go wandering off on your own. And if I ask Teyla to do it …."

"I will incapacitate you without the need of a fire arm," she said in a very serious voice.

I glanced her way briefly and tried not to smile. "And I'm sure that will hurt. A lot. So …."

"All right, all right – I get the message," Rodney said. "The ZedPM's are out of my mind. Gone. Completely out of the picture."

I took one look at the slightly nauseated grimace on his face and thought, _Yeah, right, sure they are._


	4. IV: Genius Interruptus

**IV: Genius Interruptus**

The sun may have set, but it was still hotter than hell outside and my shower was pretty much rendered useless by the time we got to the center of the village. It looked like the entire village had turned out – young, old, really really old. I saw one guy with snow white hair and wondered just exactly what his age was. No doubt one of Thomas Jefferson's contemporaries. There were also several fires going and my only thought was _why_? It was hot enough already. If they needed the light, invent some God damn lanterns for Christ's sake. Or just use torches. Enough with the bonfires. Jeez.

We were shown to a place of honor that was thankfully lit with just torches. Some others joined us, including Kintu and what had to be his family, and what I guess were the village elders. Nixta was there, too, but for the moment she stayed on the other side of the small circular area. There were these short little tripods set up with reed mat back rests – they looked just like the ones you see in a museum display about Plains Indians – and we all settled down on the ground. It took me a moment to find a comfortable position once I sat, and by the time I finally settled I was getting some worried looks from Rodney and Teyla. "What?" I said a little sharper than I intended.

"Nothing," Rodney replied. "It's just that I've seen underlings in my lab with more color than you have right now."

"It's the lighting," I said and tried to ignore them.

About that time a group of very _giggly_ young ladies came around with cups for us which they promptly filled from large gourds. I took a hesitant sip and was surprised by a smooth mix of honey, flowers, and cantaloupe. "Zelenka needs to sample this," I said and saluted our hostesses before I took another drink.

"Oh, yeah," Rodney said after a long appreciative sigh. "Now _this_ is how it should be done."

Teyla had her eyes closed and a content smile on her face. "It reminds me of the harvest festival wine the people on Fithia used to make."

While we were all enjoying our second cups – Ronon his third – they brought out the Jubjubs. Oh man – it smelled just like Thanksgiving. And speaking of Thanksgiving, I remember a few at my Grandma's house where we used to fight over who got the turkey oysters. You know, those little round pieces from the back that spent the whole time just basting away in all the drippings? Well, being that they were technically our kills, we got the choice pieces, and it turned out we each got a Jubjub oyster the size of a freaking dinner plate. They served them to us on a big leaf that smelled faintly of mint, and when I took my first bite I was not at all embarrassed when I groaned. "Oh man," I said around a mouthful. "Jubjubs taste just like dark meat turkey."

Rodney coughed and had to wash his bite down before he could speak. "You've been calling them Jubjubs in your mind, too?"

I nodded and forced myself from shoving the stuff in as fast as I could. Some of the young ladies came around with baskets of flat bread for us and refilled our cups. I gave them a thumbs up and just kept snarfing. Their giggling made me grin.

"What is a Jubjub?" Teyla asked.

I forced myself to swallow and breathe. "It's from an Earth poem. 'Beware the Jubjub bird, and the frumious Bandersnatch'."

"They're not real birds," Rodney supplied. He was wrapping meat inside bread so he could optimize eating with one hand, drinking with the other. He took a drink and pointed at Nixta with his makeshift sandwich. "So, would that make her the Bandersnatch?"

"Naw," I said and looked across just as she laughed at something one of Kintu's children did. She threw her head back and her over developed canines, top and bottom, were very clear to see. "She's the Jaberwock. You know – the teeth that bite, the claws that catch."

Rodney damn near did a spit take. "You still can't be stuck on that, that … ridiculous idea."

"It's not that ridiculous," I said in a lower tone than he was using.

Teyla glanced back and forth between us. "What idea?" she asked.

Rodney lowered his voice. "The colonel there has this wacky idea that Nixta and that big black kitty we saw earlier today are one in the same."

Ronon, who had been quietly stuffing his face this whole time, lowered his cup and thoughtfully stared at Nixta for a moment. Then he turned his head toward Rodney. "What's so strange about that?" he said quite matter-of-factly. "They said it lived at the Temple. She lives at the Temple. Have you seen either of them together?" Then he gave this shrug that said _and that's that_ and went back to eating.

I think Ronon just officially became my hero.

Rodney sat there with this total _guh_ look on his face for a moment and I started to get concerned. The last time I saw him look at someone like that he launched into a tirade that ended with a forty-something year old lab tech running from the lab in tears and spending the next few hours in Heightmeyer's office.

Teyla remembered that scene, too. "What are you talking about?" she asked me in a near whisper.

"Shapeshifting," Rodney said a little too loudly. Then he lowered his voice after a nervous glance at the alleged shapeshifter in question. "It's completely improbable and totally against all the laws of physics."

"Ah, but you didn't say 'impossible'." I felt oddly … triumphant right then.

"Okay, Dr. Moreau, let me put it this way – first off you have the mass differentials to consider. She can't weigh more than, oh, one-fifty let's say. That cat this morning easily weighed as much as me and your scrawny butt combined. Where would that extra mass come from – thin air? Doesn't work that way. And secondly, do you know how much energy it takes to change matter from one form to another? Hmm? A lot, that's how much it takes. I doubt a ZedPM could generate … that much…."

His eyes kind of glazed over as his words trailed off and I thought, _Oh, crap. Better distract him from that subject again_. "Didn't you see her arm in the lab?" I asked practically in a whisper.

"Uh, no," Rodney replied. "I was too busy staring at her really sharp teeth," he said in a quiet rush and suddenly became interested in his food again.

"I thought I saw something, but I wasn't sure," Teyla replied. "It was like a shadow moved across her arm."

"It wasn't exactly a shadow," I said into my cup as I remembered the feeling of fur rising up under my palm. I had decided I definitely did not imagine that.

"What was it?" Rodney asked.

"I'm not going to tell you since you are obviously already in denial about her fangs."

"I am not in …." Rodney took a deep breath and started over again with a little more dignity. "I am a scientist – things must have logical and explainable reasons. This is not logical and it would take years to explain, let alone prove."

"Okay, Spock. Have it your way. But I think I'm going to go with my gut feeling on this one."

"I'm surprised you have any feeling in your gut at all after that narcotic bomb you drank earlier," Rodney said.

Yeah, always gotta have the last word. I just ignored him and concentrated on my Jubjub. I actually ate the whole thing, and some of Teyla's, too, until I couldn't stuff down another bite. Then I just leaned back and enjoyed myself since sitting down on the ground was actually a bit cooler.

As other diners finished the music started. It was mainly drums and bone flutes and a little more primal than what I usually listen to, but it was nice. Rodney kicked back as well and for the next half hour or so we watched an endless parade of young women bring Ronon extra Jubjub or fruit or drink. After awhile a really cute pair of twins finally drove all the others off and I had to admit, I was a little jealous.

"Huh, guess size really does matter," Rodney said. He sounded slightly drunk. "Don't they know a really big IQ means a really big…."

"Oh, God. No – don't you dare finish that thought. I don't think there's any brain bleach on this planet strong enough to wipe out _that_ image." I lifted my cup and found it full again. How the hell did that happen?

Rodney sputtered and scooted away from me. "You would think about me … my … oh, that is just so sick and wrong. Better share that brain bleach when you find it."

Him scooting away from me only brought him to the attention of some of Ronon's rejects. In a few minutes he had completely forgotten about brain bleach as he was surrounded by half naked women and happily accepting more food from them. And he had just enough of the local hooch in him he wasn't ogling too much.

Teyla had gone over to talk with Kintu and his family awhile ago and I found myself sitting all alone. I was mentally trying to get Rodney to send some of his excess over when I felt a presence next to me. There was no sound, no warning, no sense of someone there, just _poof_, a body next to mine. I turned my head and wasn't surprised to find Nixta kneeling next to me. The pupils of her eyes flashed a luminous blue until she shifted her head and that did unsettle me a little.

"I could hear the conversation between you and the loud irritating one earlier," she said and nodded toward Rodney.

"Um," I said and swallowed on a suddenly dry throat. Crap, she must have really good hearing.

"_You_ are very astute."

"Thank you?" I said. You know, thinking she was a were-jaguar earlier was one thing. Having her confirm it was, well, just a tiny bit intimidating. "Are there, ah, others like you?"

"There is only one Guardian at a time," she said.

Part of me found that very reassuring. I took a long drink from my cup and caught an after taste of birthday cake. "Hey, did you spike this?"

"I could tell you were in pain again. Do not worry – it is a much smaller dose." Nixta smiled faintly and it dawned on me that of all the times she did smile, she never once showed her teeth. "I am not used to humans larger than the Nixtahuec and terribly misjudged that earlier dose." Then she gave an amused snort. "I didn't expect your reaction to be so amusing."

I think Carson would have described it as piss limber, but amusing was much more tactful. The corner of my mouth twitched up. "It did make me feel really, really good." I took another drink and felt my gums tingle.

"Did you like the Ixlatecutl?"

It took me a second to realize she was talking about the Jubjub. "Oh. Yeah – it was excellent. It's going to make going back to that processed turkey loaf the cafeteria serves really difficult." She gave me quizzical frown. "Eh, never mind. I have a feeling our people would be willing to set up a thriving trade just on them alone. We're always looking for things to supplement our supplies."

"Hmm," Nixta said. She settled down on her hip and leaned her right shoulder against the backrest Teyla used earlier. The relaxed position provided an uninterrupted view of skin from her ankle to her shoulder. "They have become a problem in the last few years. It would be a way to control their numbers. I will mention it to Kenje and Kintu."

Yeah, I was staring again. It was really hard not to. She was all long lean muscle with just the right amount of curve. I forced myself to concentrate and look her in the eye. "Uh, Kenje?" I said after another drink to cover my pause.

"Yes. He is the village headman and Kintu's father. He was the previous Keeper." She pointed to an older man with graying hair who had seen better days. The left side of his face was a mass of scar tissue and he was missing his right arm from just below the elbow down. "His approval would be necessary, and part of Kintu's duties as Keeper of the Ixlatecutl would include organizing the hunting parties. It is very dangerous work."

Yeah, no shit. "Speaking of those things, how in the hell did these guys tame them?"

"It was relatively simple – the birds are imprinted from birth to think the riders are their mothers. From the moment they hatch until they lose their down, they see no one else."

I suddenly had this image of Kintu horking up a wad of meat for a Jubjub chick and decided right then I'd had way way way too much to drink. I sat my half empty cup on the ground next to my leg and put a hand to my forehead and shook my head. Nope, the image was there to stay. I ran my hand down to my mouth to cover my smirk.

"The training for riders takes a year. Once you cover the Ixlatecutl's eyes they are quite docile and getting them to accept weight on their back is quite easy. The rider controls their movement with his feet and teaching them the signals takes much longer. But the birds are very intelligent and can learn dozens of commands. In the past, they even trained them for war." Nixta paused in her lesson on Jubjubs and cocked her head. Her damn eyes did that reflecting thing again. "You are amused again."

"Hmf," I managed to get out. Her eyes, though, killed the laughter I was holding back. "Sorry, I think I've had too much to drink."

She nodded slowly, once. "I see." She gestured toward my cup. "Please finish that, however, and I will see to it your cup is not refilled again."

"Thank you," I said and meant it. "So they used them for war? Yeah, I can so see that." I picked up my cup again and swirled the contents.

Nixta sighed and the sound brought my attention back to her. She was staring off towards the pyramids now hidden by darkness. "That was a long time ago when the city was great."

The expression that came across her face then was one of such longing that in my current inebriated state it damn near broke my heart. I remembered Rodney saying she was somewhere around fifteen hundred years old. What would it be like to live that long, to see and outlive so many lives? The Wraith live that long, and longer, but they're cold heartless fuckers – it wouldn't mean diddly squat to them. But to a human? Or someone nearly human? Jesus. I'm not even forty yet and there are times I feel I can't keep things tucked away in their tidy little compartments any more. I started to speak but had to clear my throat. "What was it like?" I asked. Then I mentally smacked myself in the forehead for bringing it up.

"It was beautiful," Nixta said, her attention still focused on the night. "The pyramids were all painted in bright colors at their apexes, the walls so white they blinded you in the sunlight. The Great Plaza was a market full of tents and stalls where anything in the known world could be bought or traded. It was noisy and crowded and insane and absolutely wonderful." She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath with her lips slightly parted again as if to catch a taste of the memory. Then she looked at me and the smile she gave me made me swallow. "There were almost a million people here at its height, and they all treated me like a goddess." Then her voice dropped to a barely audible whisper. "And I could not save them." She lowered her head and I saw a ripple of shadow flit across her face.

My cup was completely forgotten. "Wraith?" The word left an even worse taste in my mouth than usual.

"Not entirely," Nixta replied quietly. "The people outstripped their resourses. The Wraith simply finished the process warfare and disease started." She gestured to the night around us. "I am afraid what you see here are the last of a very great people."

I looked around and could see quite a few children playing or being held by parents and grandparents. And in my limited range I also saw at least three pregnant women. One very much so. "I dunno, they look like they're doing pretty good to me."

Nixta smiled sadly as she glanced around as well. "Yes, they are healthy and happy, but long life does have its disadvantages. Fecundity is falling, and …."

"I'm sorry. What is falling?" I don't believe I'd ever heard that word before. Of course half of the crap Rodney spews out on a regular basis I haven't heard before, either. But I had a feeling Nixta would be nicer in explaining things than Rodney was.

Nixta offered an apologetic smile. "The ability to produce viable offspring. Birth rates are very low, and currently in this village of three hundred and twenty-nine souls there are only sixty-one children." She was silent for a moment. "Part of the duty of the Tilahuaxutzli – the Guardian of the Temple – is to track lineage. My time as Guardian is nearing its end, and I am afraid the next Guardian will outlive their purpose."

_Oh man, that sucked_. "Couldn't, say, some new blood help with that?" I glanced over at Ronon and Rodney, and judging from what I saw my guess was there could be some new blood injected this very evening. "Aren't there other villages?"

"I am afraid it would be a case of too little, too late. And no, I don't think there are any others left. We used to trade with one community deeper in the jungle, but since the Ixlatecutl have been forced from their natural territory we haven't heard from them in nearly ten years."

That little bit of news made me want to jump up, run to the Gate, requisition a Jumper, and go searching for pygmies. "Perhaps our people can help. Hell, we have a top of the line genetitist …." Damn, that was hard to say when you're buzzed. "Um, geneticist back at, back home. He could come here, run a few tests, and I know damn well he'd want to do everything he could to help."

Nixta's eyebrows furrowed a little and her eyes flitted towards Rodney.

"Carson isn't anything like him. He's actually polite and _nice_." Without thinking I picked up my cup and downed the rest. Oops. Probably should have taken that slower.

"I do not know," she said. "I … I will have to think on this."

"Please do." Then I rubbed the back of my neck and tried to figure out how to word the next request. "And, um, I really hate to ask this of you, but would you be willing to let Rodney look at your database again?" She started to protest but I held up my hands. "Wait – hear me out. I think he could be a really big help. He can go over some of your records on your people and take it to Carson, give him a heads up on what's happening." Then I felt a crooked grin slide into place and I cocked my head. "Besides, I threatened him on penalty of lots of pain to behave himself."

I could see her trying to keep her expression set, but the corners of her mouth were twitching. Finally she let out a big long sigh. "How much pain?" she asked, the serious tone completely destroyed by the grin that slipped afterwards.

"A lot, from all three of us."

She made that chuffing noise I heard earlier when she didn't look human. "All right – I will allow him some more time. But not this evening. He has been drinking too much tical as well." She _flowed_ to her feet – that was the only way to describe what she did – and smiled down at me. "Thank you," she said and bowed her head faintly. Then she turned and left the circle of torches.

And I watched every single swaying, wonderful step. I picked up my cup only to remember too late it was empty and wouldn't be refilled again. Damn. I glanced over at Rodney and it took a moment to catch his attention, and when I finally did I gave him a thumbs up. I could tell it took a second for things to process, and when it did he got the ultimate crooked smug smirk on his face. I was sure for a second there his right ear would slide right off his head, plop, and half naked native girls would run screaming into the night.

Uh oh. My gums were numb again.

I leaned back and stretched my legs out in front of me. It actually had cooled off some – it was probably in the eighties now – and I felt pretty damn good. My stomach was full, my side was phoning it in long distance, and this was the most relaxed I'd been in ages. Well, at least since this morning, anyway. Teyla came over to check on me and I assured her everything was just hunky-dory.

"Hunky-dory?" Teyla repeated.

"Earth expression," I said and crossed my hands over my stomach and grinned happily. "Means fine, good, okay, five-by-five, swell …." Teyla started to look worried.

"Oh, Christ!" Rodney blurted out. He startled the young lady who was currently taking an extreme interest in his left ear. Not sure if what she was doing made him yell, or what the young lady on his right was doing behind his back – couldn't tell from this angle. He held a hand up to them, said, "Hold that thought," and crawled – yup, crawled – over to me. He knelt and glowered. "She gave you some more of that stuff, didn't she?"

"Yup."

He swayed a little and held up two fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

I lifted my hand and grinned. "One more than what I'm holding up right now." It didn't even phase him. "Relax, Rodney – it was a small dose. I can still feel my face. And my legs. So just go back over there and get laid, already. Show 'em what a big IQ you have."

Rodney's jaw fell open and Teyla covered her mouth to hide the laugh. Then the crooked smirk came back and he said, "I think I will just do that." Then he promptly turned around and crawled back to his fan club.

I motioned Teyla closer and whispered, "I'll lay odds he passes out before anything happens." She did laugh out loud then.

"You may be right," she said. She glanced around. "When did Ronon leave?"

I shrugged. "Didn't notice. Must have been when I was talking to Nixta."

"Are you going to be all right?"

"Yeah. I think I'll just listen to the music for a little bit and try really hard to ignore what's happening over there," I said and hooked a thumb in Rodney's direction.

Teyla deliberately did not look that way. "Let me know when you are ready to leave and I will help you to the Temple."

"Cool," I said and settled back. I didn't last too much longer before I started to get tired, but I lasted longer than Rodney. I glanced over and saw him slumped against one of the backrests and snoring. The two ladies were giggling and trying their best to tie some feathers into his short hair but it wasn't working. Guess they had a little too much of the tical, too. Teyla and I both wound up shaking him awake and helping him back to the Temple. "Tomorrow morning let's tell him he was fantastic," I whispered to Teyla over a half dozen little green and blue feathers. "And don't mention these." She smiled her little serene smile, but her eyes were laughing.

We never did see Ronon again that night.


	5. V: Let Downs And Beginnings

**V: Let Downs and Beginnings**

Later that night I woke up out of a dreamless sleep. Actually, _trying_ to wake up was a better description – I was groggy as hell and it felt like I was trying to claw my way up out of anesthetic. The harder I fought to open my eyes, the more drained and disoriented I became. I could feel myself trying to move but it was just freaking impossible to wake up. Then I decided to give up and just go with the dream. That's what it had to be. Once I quit fighting I relaxed and concentrated on the _other_ things I was experiencing in this totally wacked out dream.

I could feel the soft fur underneath me and a breeze cooling the sweat across my body from my previous struggle. Then I flinched faintly as a touch like silk settled on my cheek. It lingered for only a moment before it drifted like a warm breath along my jaw, across my lips, and down my throat. Another joined it at my collar bone and as the two slid across my chest I felt goose bumps raise damn near everywhere. They came to my left side and slowed then stopped altogether. The dull ache I was barely aware of in my paralyzed state grew warm, then hot, and just when I was about to renew my fight to wake up the touch began again in slow circles that trailed blessed coolness in their wake. Then they slid down across my stomach.

Well, _that_ reaction wasn't unexpected.

My hands twitched and I groaned as I tried once again to open my eyes. I wanted to see what doing this, touch it, return the favor. But I just couldn't. My hands did come up briefly, but the effort alone left me panting as they collapsed back onto the fur. The touch paused, then caressed my left hip. There was a brief sharp sting, then they resumed their maddening exploration.

I curled my fingers into the fur and fought once again to open my eyes. This time my eyelids did flutter and I let out gasp of triumph. Then the touch stopped, disappeared, and my victory turned into a groan of frustration. Warm silk settled on the side of my throat for a moment, and when it lifted a cool numbness began to slowly spread throughout my body. "No," I managed to say as the sensations returned but as if from a great distance. A torturous eternity passed and I was dimly aware of arching clear of the fur beneath me when I finally came, but by then other images and dreams were slowly spiraling up out of the darkness and I wasn't sure if I had experienced it or not. Oh, hell, I'd know in the morning. Then a dream of drums and a white city in a moonlit jungle and a goddess with skin like black silk rose up and took me away.

Someone was making my door chime, repeatedly, and I groaned. "Go away," I said and rolled over to face the wall. I wanted to just lay there and think about the dreams I had the night before – man, they were great. The chime quit about the time I realized I was laying on my left side and it wasn't hurting. "What the hell?" I said and rolled back over just as the door opened. _Wait a minute, I locked that_, I thought as I sat bolt upright and flung back my sheet.

"Oh, Jesus Christ," Rodney said as he barged into my room. Again. He held a hand up to his forehead and fixed his gaze on the floor. "We have to check in an hour so get yourself …." Then he stopped, looked back at me, and it was his turn to say, "What the hell?"

I was looking at my side. The bruises were nothing but a few yellow smudges and the gash on my hip was a thin red scar. Then I swiveled from the bed and headed for the bathroom.

"Oh, hey – warn people before you do that," Rodney said as he turned away and held a hand up to the side of his head. "You know, some of us have no desire to see your …."

"Rodney," I growled out as I thought the lights on and looked in the mirror. There it was, on the side of my neck, two tiny scratches that resembled shaving nicks. I looked down, pressed my hand against my ribs. It didn't hurt, and other than the healed bruises and cut and the nicks there was no other evidence that what happened last night was real.

I leaned forward on the counter and for a moment I couldn't think I was so royally fucking pissed. The sense of violation, and to some extent betrayal, was nearly overwhelming. I took several deep breaths, and when I finally spoke my words were a lot more controlled than how I felt. "Rodney, I am coming out there for my clothes now."

"Trust me – not looking," he sing-songed.

I stepped out and the sight of a couple missed feathers on the back of Rodney's head didn't cool my rage.

"Um, are you all right, Colonel?" Rodney asked. He recognized the tone of my voice.

"I'm fine," I said as I yanked on my pants. "Where's Nixta?"

"I just spoke to her a minute ago – she gave me permission to head down to Control." He turned around as I was putting on my shirt. "When did that happen?" he said and pointed at me.

"Sometime last night." It couldn't have been too long after I fell asleep. I wonder how she did it? Was there something else she slipped in my drink I wasn't aware of? And what else did she take?

"I think our first stop is one of the med labs," Rodney said.

"My thought exactly," I said through my teeth. Rodney watched me with growing alarm as I finished dressing, strapped on my gun belt and patched flak vest, and checked my P90 before I clipped it into place. "Where's Nixta?" I asked again as I slid my earpiece into place.

"Um, I don't know now. She was out by the fountain earlier." Then he stopped me by putting a hand on my shoulder. "You're seriously starting to freak me out. What's going on?"

"I'll explain later," I said and pushed past him to the hallway. He fell into step next to me and thankfully stayed quiet for a change. I pulled aside the curtain that led into the foyer with the fountain and saw Teyla sitting there by the table eating some fruit for breakfast. Her smile faded as she saw me.

"Colonel, what is wrong?"

"Get your equipment together – we're leaving as soon as Rodney is finished here." I started flinging aside tapestries until I found the entrance to the other end of the corridor. Nixta's sleeping quarters was the first room I came across. It was empty.

When I came back out Teyla was gone. Now why can't Rodney follow orders like that? As we approached the lift the doors opened and Ronon sauntered out. His smug expression disappeared the second he saw me and he snapped to attention. "Meet us in the control room," I said as I backed into the lift. Ronon simply nodded and took off at a jog to retrieve his weapons.

The doors slid shut and I was glad to feel my rage simmer down to a slow boil. Rodney must have noticed, too, because he pointed at his head and said, "Were you responsible for the feathers?"

I glanced at him, pulled one from the back of head and handed it to him. "No," I said and actually managed a tight smile.

Rodney checked the back of his head and found the other. "Damn, I passed out, didn't I?" He dropped the feathers and swiped his hand through his hair again to make sure he didn't miss anything. Then he sighed. "Well, at least I got lucky in my dreams last night."

The door opened but I stood frozen. "Rodney, that wasn't a dream," I said, my voice controlled and barely above a whisper.

"Oh, and how would you know that?" he said and glared at me. Then he froze, too. "Oh," he said. In quick succession I saw revelation, embarrassment, and anger flit across his face. "Why, that sneaky, underhanded …." He resorted to a few incoherent noises as he stomped out of the elevator. He whirled around and raised a finger. "How dare she do that to us without our permission!"

Yup, my thoughts exactly. As we headed for the med lab he continued ranting.

"I mean, if she wanted a sample that badly I would have willingly given it to her. But no, she has to slip us both a roofie and, and …." The incoherent noises came again, as well as a few hand gestures.

Okay, this was moving into territory – and images – I really didn't want to contemplate right now. We got to the med lab and a few minutes later I was laying on the table and the scanner was moving over me for the second time.

"You're fine," Rodney said. "That one rib is completely healed and I'm not picking up anything but a trace of that pain killer in your system."

Rodney hopped up on the table next. Other than high blood pressure, an itty bitty kidney stone, and male pattern baldness, he checked out fine. And there was a tiny nick on his throat, too. I began to wonder if she took any 'samples' from Teyla and Ronon while she was at it. Teyla slept here last night – I'll have to ask her if she had any strange dreams last night. As for Ronon, she could probably get a sample from the Doublemint twins.

As we rode the lift up to retrieve Rodney's vest and computer he had his arms crossed and was fuming. "Why'd she do it?" he finally blurted out. "I'm sitting here trying to wrap my head around it and it's just, just …. I mean, if she really wanted a genetic sample there are much easier and less, well, 'violating' ways to get one."

"She told me last night her people were dying out, birth rates were dropping."

The door opened. "Well, if that's the case then we could just send the Marines over in shifts." He stomped out, arms flailing. "And Zelenka. They could boost the gene pool in no time. And I bet Ronon helped out on that front, too, last night." He suddenly froze in place and I could see the skin on the back of his neck get pale. "I think I'm going to puke," he said and glanced around. Unlike Atlantis this corridor didn't have any convenient planters so he headed for the fountain instead. Then things must have ticked through that hyperactive brain of his because I saw his ears go bright red. He whirled around and stomped back and into the lift. "I'm going to kill her."

I grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him back out of the lift. "Equipment first, mayhem later." He started to protest but I fixed my mouth and pointed down the hall. Then he lifted his chin, squared his shoulders, and marched out of the lift. He wasn't even to the fountain before he started twitching and it was obvious he was ranting to himself.

I snorted as I stepped out and waited for him to get his equipment. Then we rode down to the control room in silence. Actually, not so much silence since the air was whistling in and out of Rodney's flaring nostrils. When the doors opened I saw Teyla and Ronon waiting for us down the hall. They both came to attention as we walked up. "Is Nixta in there?" I asked and pointed to the open control room door.

They shook their heads. "I saw her in the village when I came back to the Temple," Ronon supplied.

"Good." I planned on having a word with her. "Rodney, how long do you think it will take to find what you need?"

He shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. Couple hours?"

I nodded. "We leave one hour after Weir checks in." Rodney started to protest but my glower cut him off for once. "One hour. Teyla, Ronon – keep an eye on him. There's someone I need to go have a heart to heart with." Before I turned to leave I glanced briefly at Teyla's neck. It was unmarked.

I found Nixta near the Jubjub pens talking to Kintu and Kenje. She looked up when she saw me approaching and excused herself from the two men.

I thought I had cooled down some on the walk around the village but I guess I was mistaken. Everything came pouring out in a half shout. "What the hell are you trying to pull?"

Nixta stopped and her eyes widened. Kintu obviously didn't like the tone I was using on his Guardian and he stepped forward. She held a hand up and motioned him back. The little guy did retreat but he didn't take his eyes off of me. "I thought you would appreciate your wounds being healed," she said.

"Not that," I said. Then I took a moment to draw in a really deep breath, hold it, and let it out. When I spoke again my voice was a lot more under control. "Our people take a lot of offense to being raped in their sleep."

She reacted as if slapped. "I, I did not intend…. I tried to keep you asleep, make it pleasurable, like a dream. You weren't supposed to waken."

"That isn't the point!" I said. I wiped the sweat from my face and forced myself to calm down again. "There are just some things you, you _ask_ permission for. You don't just take, no matter what the intentions are."

The proud confident woman closed her eyes, her shoulders slumped, and she just seemed to crumple right before my eyes. "I, I am so sorry. My duties as Guardian sometimes outweigh my … humanity. When I discovered you were descended from the Ancients themselves, I grew careless." Nixta wrapped her arms around herself and bowed her head. Her next words were in a whisper. "That was wrong. Please forgive me."

I just stood there for a moment, my breath damn near whistling in and out of my nose it was coming so hard. "Well, your apology is not accepted." Again she reacted as if I'd hit her and not spoken to her. "We'll be leaving in a few hours, and I'm still going to ask Carson to see if anything can be done for your people. But after that…." I held up my hands as I started to back away. "Don't ever ask me for anything else." I turned and walked away without looking back.

When I got back to the control room I was more numb than pissed. Rodney barely looked up when I came in since he was frantically sorting through data. All he said was, "She still breathing?"

"Yeah," I said as I leaned against a cool wall.

Teyla walked over to me and said quietly, "Rodney explained what happened." She placed a hand briefly on my shoulder. "If you ever wish to discuss it, I will be a much more understanding ear than Dr. Heightmeyer."

That actually made the corner of my mouth twitch. "Thanks, I'll remember that." I started to slide down the wall to sit down, and the second my butt hit the floor my radio chirped and I heard Elizabeth's voice. I tapped my earpiece. "Sheppard here. How are things going on the cool end of the Stargate?"

"Ah, Colonel – good to hear you more coherent this time. Things are good here. How about on your end?"

"Eh, we've had better. We should be wrapping up things within the hour. Rodney is going to have a lot of goodies for folks to go over once we get back home, and I have a good feeling we can establish some sort of trade with these people." I snorted. "You are going to love Jubjub."

There was a pause on the other end. "Do I dare ask what that is?" Elizabeth said with a bit of amusement in her voice.

"Really big bird, tastes like turkey. I'll tell you more once we get back." Then I could hear a voice in the background. "And tell Carson I'm fine."

A familiar burr broke into the transmission. "I'll bloidy well believe that once you get back here. You haven't done anything to aggravate your injuries, now, have you?"

"No, mother, I haven't." I heard a sigh that I was pretty sure was Carson's. "We'll be home soon. Better have those cold ones ready. Sheppard out." I cut the connection. Then I just leaned my head back against the cool wall and waited for Rodney. Several times he made little _huh_ noises and I refrained from asking him what he found, because if he answered we'd probably be here for _hours…_.

When we left the Temple Nixta was waiting for us at the bottom of the stairs, six riders holding the leashes to their mounts with her. She was also dressed in one of those simple little skirt things, and even though I was still pissed at her the sight made me stop. Rodney ran into me. "Look at her," he said under his breath. I was, unfortunately, and I couldn't move from the warring emotions in me right then. "Little Miss Pointy-teeth, standing there all, all _there_ like absolutely nothing has happened, like she didn't …." He made a strangled growl. "Why, I ought to march right down there and …."

"Rodney," I said. It wasn't loud – hell, I barely breathed it – but he stopped mid rant. I glanced at him and it made him pull his head back a fraction and go pale. Whatever he saw in my face right then, it shut him down and he backed off. I forced myself to continue down the stairs and when we reached the bottom I pulled my sunglasses out. "Nixta," I said and glanced around. "What's this?" I asked and made myself look at her eyes and nothing else.

"The Ixlatecutl are active this time of day. We will see you safely to the Great Pyramid." Her voice was calm but I saw the skin between her fine eyebrows furrow faintly.

"Thank you," I said just as calmly. She nodded, turned, and started to walk away in long powerful strides. Kintu and his riders mounted up and waited for us.

"You took that, um, well," Rodney whispered next to me. "But if you clench your teeth any harder you'll break something."

I forced myself to relax as we started forward. Our little troupe left the village the same way we had come in, and with the same escort of children. They tried to get Ronon to play with them again, but just couldn't get him to cooperate. Too bad, I could have used a good smile then. A group of six women led by the twins waved to us as we left the gate. I glanced over at Ronon and saw a hint of a smile behind his beard. "You were busy last night," I muttered. All I got in reply was a grunt.

Once we got into the overgrown city proper Kintu and another rider shot forward to scout ahead. Man, those things moved fast. Nixta remained at point and the other four riders spread out to our side and rear. They blended into the greenery perfectly and the only way you could spot them half the time was if you caught a flash of tattoos. We all kept the safety on our weapons disengaged, and whenever Nixta would halt we brought them up as we froze in place. Then she would sniff the air a few times and motion us onward. It made for a tense hike but we arrived at the base of the Great Pyramid without any incident.

A couple of times Rodney started to grumble – first under his breath then with a increasing volume. All it took was a glance from me to shush him, and thankfully by the time we crossed the plaza the heat had zapped the energy out of him. Instead he plodded along, sweating like the rest of us, but his eyes were still sending mental nukes into Nixta's back.

We were all standing and staring up at the steps when I suddenly said. "Crap – we forgot the MALP." Nixta and her riders looked at us questioningly. "It's on the other side of the pyramid. We need to get something. It won't take long."

Nixta nodded. Other than those few words in the village she hadn't said a thing, but several times during Rodney's outbursts I saw her flinch and the muscles along her shoulders tense. She motioned the riders to move out with just a nod and we started the hike around the base of the pyramid.

It took longer than I thought – the thing was huge – but as soon as we saw the crumpled wreckage Rodney pulled his tool kit from his vest and went right to work. He was able to salvage the memory, power source, and one scanner from the mess. As he was packing things away he said, "Well, that was easier than I thought. I'm surprised they …." His words were cut off by a low growl.

Instantly we had our weapons up, including the riders, and it took me a moment to realize the growl was coming from Nixta. A human should _not _be able to make that noise and the sound was making my skin crawl. I glanced over and saw she was crouched and staring intently into the underbrush. The Jubjubs were all shifting nervously and Kintu pulled his bow, nocked an arrow, and started edging his bird sideways.

Then Nixta _changed_. It happened so fast if I had sneezed I would have missed it. The fur came up in a wave from her head down and her braid seemed to absorb into her spine, her shoulders and back took on more mass, and her legs changed proportion. In a couple seconds she was a half-human, half-cat _thing_. She motioned us back and the movement ejected ivory claws nearly three inches long.

"Holy shit," Rodney breathed.

Nixta took a hesitant step forward and the brush exploded in a flurry of gold and russet brown spots. It hit a rider full on and both the bird and the man screamed as they went down. I only had enough time to see the other cat tear the bird's stomach open before Nixta launched herself at it. She changed into a full panther in midair, her belt breaking in the process and scattering green and gold beads in the sunlight. She caught the other cat, and even though she was only three-quarters its mass, she knocked it flying. They rolled across the jungle floor, a savage mass of fur and teeth and claws.

I stepped forward along with the other riders and tried to get a clear shot. It was impossible – they were moving so fast their attacks were a blur.

Then I saw golden hind legs flex and kick, and Nixta screamed.

The sound was human enough that I knew it was going to haunt my dreams forever. The bigger cat stood and _everyone_ fired. I stepped forward and emptied my clip into it as I did so. The thing was dead before it even hit the ground.

Kintu and I got to Nixta at the same time. She was laying on her side, her breath coming in quick short gasps. I went to my knees and tried to ignore the ropey mass that lay on the ground next to her. Kintu gently lifted her head and sat it on his knees. He was stroking her head and whispering a mile a minute, and even though I couldn't understand a single word I understood their meaning. I put my hand on her side and could feel her heart pounding away under the silky fur. Somebody behind me was puking – I was pretty sure it was Rodney.

Nixta closed her eyes and she snarled. A shudder wracked her entire body and she shifted yet again to that half form. Good God – I didn't want to know what it took out of her to do that right now. I could see her human aspects in her face now as she turned it to look up at me.

Her hand wrapped around my wrist and I felt claws dig into my skin. "Please help my people," she said quite plainly and died.

Kintu leaned his head back and his scream echoed between the pyramids.

They were going to cremate Nixta at sunset. We wanted to stay and help get her back to the village but Kintu would not let us. That was when he told us what was going to happen and he invited us back for the ceremony. Then he had two of his riders stay with us until we returned to the stairs. The long, hot climb up the pyramid was done in silence, and while Rodney was dialing home I walked to the edge and looked down. I was in time to see the riders disappear under the canopy. Two of the Jubjubs were dragging a makeshift litter made from heavy branches and the skin of the cat that killed Nixta. Her dark form lay heavily in the middle of stained spotted fur. Another bird dragged a smaller litter of branches and vines and carried the wounded rider. They were all moving slowly as they carried their burdens home.

Carson was waiting for me as I stepped through the Gate. So was Elizabeth with bottles of ice cold water, but their words died as they both got good looks at all of us. Rodney took his bottle without a word, opened it, and just poured it over his head. We all just stared at him a moment, then Ronon grabbed a bottle, said, "Good idea," and did the same thing.

That broke the silence. Elizabeth started asking details, and Carson was inspecting my arm and clucking like the mother hen he was. I looked down and was surprised at all the blood five punctures could produce.

We all spent the next several hours in the infirmary. While we were all going through our after mission physicals I briefed Elizabeth on what happened. When my voice would falter Rodney would pick up the narrative without hesitation. Carson couldn't believe I was healed and he made me promise I'd come back later for more tests. Then we were all released. I went to my quarters, showered, shaved, and dressed in my least worn mission uniform. Then I met the others in the Jumper bay. Carson and Elizabeth joined us. They didn't have to come with us but Elizabeth insisted. It was a nice gesture. When Ronon showed up decked out with all his weapons and his leather coat Carson eyed him and said, "Yuir gonna roast in that thing." Ronon just shrugged and grunted.

I brought the Jumper down, uncloaked, just outside the radius of the null field that surrounded the village. At first the guards at the gate and on the wall freaked, but then they recognized me and Rodney through the windshield. By the time we left the Jumper Kintu was waiting for us. And a passel of kids.

Kintu looked past us and said something. I glanced to Teyla for a translation. "He wants to know where the feathers are," she said and cracked her first smile in hours.

"Oh," I said. I didn't have a smart-assed answer in me right now for that one.

The kids were quiet as we were led to the Temple. One little girl came up to Ronon and just held on to the hem of his coat as we trudged forward through the heat. He let her. Then we got to the Temple and the locals broke apart into groups. We all stood shoulder to shoulder and I glanced at Elizabeth. She saw my look and her eyes grew wide. "This heat is God awful," she whispered. "How did you do it?"

"I was drugged half the time – didn't notice." I heard Carson snort.

A large shallow pit had been dug in the earth just outside of the flagstones. Wood was laid in a neatly organized pile within, and a few smaller stacks rested nearby. People were arranging themselves around the pit and out of an unspoken consensus we took up a position closer to the back. I don't think any of us wanted to be near that when it was lit – the normal heat was bad enough. And being able to see over heads was no problem.

The sky was still light but it was twilight under the trees. I couldn't tell if the sun had set, but someone must have been able to because the wailing started a moment later. Young, old, men, women – they all started this eerie ululating that made all of us jump. Then I saw movement in the doorway of the Temple. I recognized Kintu and his father, Kenje, bearing the front of the litter that held a large bundle wrapped in one of the tapestries from Nixta's quarters. The old man did pretty good with one arm as they came down the steps, but as they got closer I could see the strain on his face. They sat Nixta on the top of the pyre and the wailing stopped. The silence that followed was just as eerie.

Then Kenje began to speak. At first his voice was breathless, but as he continued it grew in strength. We didn't ask Teyla to translate – we'd all been to enough funerals in the past few years to get the gist. He finished after a short time and backed up. A dozen women with gourds stepped forward, began soaking the pyre down, and the smell of honey and flowers and cantaloupe filled the air. They left and someone threw a torch. I watched it arc through the artificial twilight and when it landed the pyre went up with a flash of blue tinted flame that made everyone, and I mean everyone, back up several steps. Before the flames even settled the singing began.

It had no accompaniment, no drums or flutes, it was just voices all raised in song. And it wasn't a sad funeral dirge either. It was absolutely joyous, and as I looked around me I could see many of the singers actually laughing. I could feel a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth, and for a moment it made me forget the smell of burning fur and flesh that filled the air.

The singing continued for some time, and as I listened I glanced at my team mates. Rodney looked mildly ill, but there was a faint crooked smile lighting his face as he watched the flames. He was even slightly bopping his head to the beat. Teyla's face had that serene look, but her eyes were bright and every once in awhile she would lean forward slightly and blink so the tears wouldn't run down her face. Elizabeth's face was also a study in calm but I could see how tightly she was clasping her hands in front of her. Carson was looking everywhere but at the pyre, and Ronon – well, he was standing at parade rest, sweat running down his set features and dripping onto his coat.

And me? Well, I was standing at parade rest, too, but I felt numb. Part of me was still pissed as hell at what she did to me – I was never going to forgive that – but part of me understood. I would do anything for my team, and if what I had to resort to was, well, unethical to save them, I would sure as hell consider it. She was protecting her people – she wanted them to live, to thrive, to grow. If she were still alive I had a feeling in a few years there would be several red-headed and spiky haired children running around this place. Not to mention a few very tall, fuzzy mopped ones. Yeah, I understood, but it still wasn't right.

The pyre collapsed with a shower of sparks and the singing ended. People began to approach the fire and toss offerings in. This is where Ronon really surprised us. He strode forward and pygmies scattered out of his way. He pulled something from his pocket, and from my angle it looked like one of his dreads wrapped with a piece of stained cloth. He tossed that into the fire, stood there for a moment, then came back. His face was really slicked with sweat and he was pale. Carson jumped in and said, "Take that bloidy coat off before ya keel over from heat exhaustion."

"I'm fine," Ronon rumbled.

"Don't get cheeky with me, laddie. Do it." And holy crap, Ronon did. Carson had a back pack with him and he pulled out a bottle of water. He put it in Ronon's hand and said, "Now, drink." Ronon did.

Wow. That was impressive, and he never raised his voice once. Then Carson started passing out bottles of water to all of us and we popped them open without any argument.

Kintu came over and his first words through Teyla were basically, "Why the long faces?"

"Your people have lost your Guardian," Elizabeth said. "We are very sorry for your loss."

Kintu listened to the translation then made a rude noise that made Elizabeth start. Then he thumped his chest and gestured to the village around him as he spoke. Teyla translated through a smile. "He said, 'We are Nixtahuec, Shadow's People. As long as we live, there will always be a Guardian'." Then he strutted away like a bantam rooster.

"Well," Elizabeth said. I kinda thought he had that backwards, but I wasn't about to argue with him.

Rodney and I looked at each other and his first words of the entire evening were, "Why do I have an ominous feeling about that little statement?" I just nodded in reply.

We stayed only a short time. As we were walking back to the Jumper Rodney pulled me aside. He motioned the others to continue and didn't speak until they were out of earshot. "When I was going through the database this morning I, ah, came across references to other Ancient genetic research labs like this one."

"Really?" I said. "Do you think there are more like her out there?"

"Possibly. And wipe that drool off your chin, Kirk."

I smacked him in the back of his head.

"Ow! Hey, that hurt." He smoothed his hair back down and continued like nothing had happened. "There were Gate addresses with four of the six, and when I cross referenced them back at Atlantis, I found we've been to two of the worlds. It's worth going back for a second look, see if we can find the labs. The other two haven't been explored yet."

"Huh," I said. "Make sure you bring that up in your report."

"I will," he said. "So, are you going to bring up the, um, you know, 'dream' in yours?"

"I think I might leave that bit out," I drawled. "I really don't want to spend any more time with Heightmeyer than I absolutely have to. That yearly eval is more than enough, thank you."

I could see Rodney's head bobbing in agreement in the dim light. Then he started chewing on a fingernail and I had a feeling I knew what was coming next. "Say, you know now that she's gone there's a perfectly good ZedPM sitting back there just doing nothing. We should …."

I cut his words off with another smack to his head. "You just don't give up, do you, McKay?"

"Hey, it's all part of my charm," he said as he rubbed his head.

"I hate to break it to you, but there is a very big difference between charm and ego." We were coming up to the Jumper. "And you know damn well what Elizabeth is going to say about that."

"Well, yeah, but …."

"And if you continue to pursue it I will make damn sure I tell every single one of your lab techs that you passed out cold on a couple of nubile half naked native girls who were probably willing to do anything you wanted or could imagine."

He stopped in his tracks and sputtered a few times. "You would, wouldn't you?"

Now that we were in the light coming from the Jumper I just smiled and bobbed my eyebrows at him.

"Crap. You would. Asshole," he grumbled as he followed me inside.

The next morning, deep within the Temple of Life, machinery that had lain dormant for over fifteen centuries hummed to life. All interior fountains slowed to a trickle then stopped altogether while the exterior ones switched to back-up reserves with no visible slow in their output. The Temple grew dark and a hush fell over the village that radiated from the center outward. Reassurances were spoken but it was still several hours before the normal sounds of the village returned.

In a room whose existence was known only to Nixta and those who bore the name before her a crèche not unlike a stasis pod on an Ancient warship slowly filled with a thick nutrient gel. A prepared sample was retrieved from cryo and injected into the bath. The crèche began to pulse with light, slowly, then faster and faster as energy was channeled into it. For ten days cell division occurred at a massively accelerated rate and Rodney's much coveted ZPM lost nearly five per cent of its charge. Eventually the glow dimmed and spider silk thin filaments snaked through the thick gel to insert into newly formed brain tissue. In the same time it took for the crèche to drain and open the information needed for the Guardian to perform its duties – up to and including all current genealogical information – downloaded into its current incarnation. The filaments retreated and a moment later eyes that weren't quite green, weren't quite gold opened.

A second later they squeezed shut again as the Guardian curled up into a ball on its side and started coughing thick fluid from its lungs. As the spasms died and breathing became more regular, the Guardian slowly sat up and took stock of its new body.

Male this time.

It had been several incarnations since it was last male. He carefully got to his feet and stretched new but not wholly unfamiliar muscles. Then came the shift. Black fur slick with gel rose all along his skin. Bones shifted and he groaned – the first time was always incredibly painful – and his body resettled into its intermediate form. His balance settled on oddly proportioned legs and he flexed and inspected claws in hands that still bore thumbs. Then he steeled himself for the final shift. His groan turned into a snarl and he fell heavily to the floor. For several minutes he just laid on his side, his breath coming in short pants, until the pain passed. Then he carefully got to his feet. A few paces around the room reacquainted him with four legged locomotion. Before he attempted the shift back to human he shook himself long and hard. Gel flew everywhere and when he finished his fur was spiky from what remained.

The shift to an upright form was uncomfortable, but not unbearably so. He reached for the control to the door, and before his hand even came close the door opened on its own. He paused, cocked his head, and thought the door closed. It did. A slow, lopsided smile slowly lit his face as he thought the door open and closed a few more times. He finally left his birth chamber and by the time he reached the lift all internal systems had been restored and the room deep within the Temple of Life went into hibernation once again.

He stepped into his chambers, closed his eyes, and with lips slightly parted took in a deep breath. The scents were familiar, soothing – home. He took the time to bathe and prepare himself for his people. He found the familiar jade and gold belt ready for him in his sleeping quarters, its cording new and clean, and as he got dressed in a simple loin cloth he went over the things he needed to do right away. Pelu's baby was due any day now – he'd need to check on her first thing. He knew a rider had been injured, but not too badly. That would be next. Then there was the matter of the wall. The Ixlatecutl had been more numerous than normal the past few months and the wall was the next most important thing after his people. Once that was done, then he could work on the new project his previous incarnation never got to start.

As he walked down the stairs to the atrium he stopped when he caught a glimpse of himself on a polished section of wall. He reached up and smoothed his hair down. When it didn't comply, he licked his hand and tried again. When that still didn't work he decided not to worry about it and continued on his way. His people needed him and he didn't want to keep them waiting.

_End Note: Well, I hope y'all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. This is the first time I ever wrote something from a first person POV and it was scary how easily I could hear Sheppard's voice in my head. I do have a sequel planned - up to yesterday I had nothing but scenes but no plot. Well yesterday, while driving back after picking up cat food, I suddenly had this nasty vision followed by a line spoken by Rodney. Needless to say, what would a Ixlatecutl be afraid of? Got 2,500+ words down. Heh._


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